Abandon
by sandersonsister
Summary: Kageyama didn't know much about soulmates. His mother hated even the mention of them. But when he saw the writing on his arms, he knew something was going on. Who were they and how was he going to be someone they would want to know?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I've been working on this story over at AO3 and just realized I never posted it here. So...here you go! I hope you all enjoy!

At first it was bruises. His knees were decorated with them. Then his arms. He couldn't remember where they came from. He remembers telling his mom that his arms hurt. Remembered her looking down at the blue and black spots and pursing her lips in annoyance. She told him not to mention the bruises again. That they weren't important and she didn't want to hear, or see, anything else about it.

Tobio had been scared by the tone of her voice. So he had never talked to her about them again. He didn't mention them.

It was only about a year later that the writing began to appear. He had been playing in the main room of the house when his mother walked by him with a soft smile on her face. The smile had completely frozen as she stared down at his arm. Tobio had swallowed hard and followed her gaze.

 _Did it work?_

Tobio stared at his arm in confusion. Did what work? And where did that come from?

He broke out of his thoughts as his mother suddenly grabbed his arm harshly. "Ow!" Tobio couldn't help but yell out. His mother's hold didn't loosen, however. No, instead it tightened and Tobio winced as her nails dug into his skin. He stood on shaking legs as his mother began to drag him toward his bedroom. "Okasan! Okasan!"

She didn't respond. When they finally reached his bedroom, she pulled him forward unsympathetically. "Who is it?" She hissed, her eyes snapping furiously. "I told you I didn't want to see anymore of that!"

"Of what?" He cried out as he rubbed furiously at his eyes. He was seven now. He wasn't supposed to cry.

"Cover it up!" His mother demanded heatedly. "Who is it? Who is contacting you? Did you meet them at school? At your club? Where?!"

"Meet who?" Tobio wailed out.

His mothers eyes flashed and her hand once again flew out. She grabbed his arm once again and pulled out his arm, baring the words that were written there. "This is what I am talking ab-" She broke off as she stared at his arm. Her grip lightened slowly until she finally let go all together.

Tobio pulled his arm against him instantly. He didn't know what he did to make her mad but he didn't want her to grab him again.

It hurt.

He watched as his mother stood up fully. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath before letting it out slowly and opening her eyes. "Tobio, you must keep these words covered at all times. Do you understand me? These words will eventually disappear and new words will be there. You must not let anyone see them. Tell me you understand."

"Yes," Tobio muttered.

"No. Say it. Say you understand."

"I understand, Okasan."

His mother took another deep breath. "Fine. Now, I'm going to finish dinner. Cover those words up and come down."

Tobio didn't bother to look at her as she made her way out the door. He still had tears running down his face. His arm hurt. He didn't understand what had happened. Why did his mother do that? What did he do to make her angry?

He lifted his hands to his face and pushed his palms against his eyes. That really hurt! He didn't like it!

After a couple of minutes, Tobio slowly stood and grabbed a long sleeve shirt. He stripped off his current shirt and went to put on the new shirt. But something caught his attention. There were more words.

 **It works**

 **Hey what did you do? My arm hurts**

 _What did you do! I didn't do anything!_

 **Whatever. Just stop it.**

 _But I didn't do anything!_

Tobio took a deep breath and quickly put his shirt on, making sure to pull the sleeves down as low as they could go before heading downstairs to eat.

He never spoke to his mother about the bruises, or the words, that decorated his body. He found out at school what the words meant. He was in elementary school when they covered the topic. A person was connected to their soulmate. The bond first manifested as being able to feel the other persons pain. The second part of the bond was when you would not only feel the pain, but you would also get the same injuries as our soulmate. Like bruises. The third stage of the bond was anything written or drawn on your body would appear on the other person. The fourth and final stage was being able to feel the other persons emotions.

Tobio was somehow in the third stage. However, from what he had learned, that wasn't possible. Soulmates stay in the first stage until they meet. Then they are in the second stage until they are able to 'connect' to the point where the third stage is reached. But Tobio had never met his soulmate. So how was he suddenly in the third stage?

For the first and probably last time, he snuck into the library and grabbed some of the pamphlets they had on soulmates. They didn't really tell him anything beyond what he already knew until he reached the section on polybonds.

In a polybond, the soulmate connection wasn't between only two people. The largest bond had a total of eight. But the important thing was that the first three stages could be reached without some of the soulmates having met. That was the reason he already had writing on his arm. His soulmates, at least two of them judging by the different handwriting, knew each other. And they had no idea that he existed. But they wouldn't be able to reach the fourth stage until they formed a "connection" with him as well.

He never told his mother that the words were the reason he decided to start volleyball in the first place. He had loved the game from the second he stepped foot onto the court but the reason he had decided to try was because his soulmates seemed to enjoy it so much. They were always talking about practice and things they were going to do during the games. Tobio had thought that maybe, just maybe, he would actually meet them if he started to play. And his mother would know nothing about it.

But when he started playing, when he realized that he had found something he loved, something he was good at, the thought of his soulmates began to take a backseat. It was after watching the games for the Junior High Schools that he decided to go to Kitagawa Daiichi. How could he not when he saw their setter?

Kageyama wanted to learn everything he possibly could from Oikawa Tooru. He was amazing. He had never seen someone like him before. He wanted to learn from him.

Too bad Oikawa didn't want to teach him.

"Aren't you hot, Kageyama?" Iwaizumi asked one day during practice.

Tobio looked down at the log sleeved shirt he wore under his practice jersey. "Uh, well…I'm fine," he muttered. Yes, he was hot. Yes, he wanted to just wear short sleeves like everyone else. But his mother had told him if she ever found out he had been walking around "showing those things off" she would make sure he would never be able to play again.

Iwaizumi didn't look convinced. "Alright. Whatever you say. If you start to feel lightheaded go sit on the bench, okay?"

Tobio nodded once to show he understood and Iwaizumi sent him one last concerned look before moving toward a clearly annoyed Oikawa. He sighed as he heard the third year complain to "Iwa-chan!" about hanging out with "that kid!".

He had never really realized that he had never really looked at the marks that decorated people's arms. Maybe it was because of the reaction his own marks had received. Maybe it was because they were such a common occurrence he just didn't really pay attention to them. But he was watching Oikawa practice setting to Iwaizumi one day when he heard the whispered conversation from Kindaichi and Kunimi.

"Apparently they've been at stage three for years now," Kindaichi whispered.

"Well, they have known each other since they were six," came Kunumi's usual drawl, "it makes sense that they would have a strong enough connection for that."

"I guess so," Kindaichi muttered. Tobio frowned at the tone of the other boys voice and he turned his head slightly so he could look at his face. Kindaichi was scowling with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrowed. Tobio wondered if Kindaichi was upset that he had yet to reach the third stage with his soulmate. Or if he even knew who his soulmate was.

But Kunimi seemed to think it was something else. The sleepy boy muffled a chuckle behind his hand as his eyes flashed in amusement at his friend. "Upset that Iwaizumi-senpai isn't your soulmate? Your crush is just too cute!"

"Shut up!"

Tobio blinked and looked back to where Iwaizumi and Oikawa were practicing. For the first time, he noticed the writing that decorated their arms. Writing that looked to match. Ah. Oikawa and Iwaizumi were soulmates. No wonder they synched so well on the court. Maybe that would be him with his own soulmates one day. Maybe the three of them would make a perfect team.

He watched Oikawa and Iwaizumi even more closely after that. He wanted to see everything they did, see how they interacted with each other, so he would know what he was supposed to do when he finally met his own soulmates. He even tried to talk to Oikawa about it once. He thought that if he started by asking about volleyball he could get the third year to like him just a little bit. Then he could ask him if he thought he should write something on his arm to let his soulmates know he was there as well.

It was something he had been thinking about for awhile. The problem was that he could never let his mother know. He didn't know why his mother was always so upset when it came to soulmates but he knew she was completely serious about never allowing him to see them. And about taking away things he cared about. Like volleyball.

He was hoping that Oikawa would be able to give him some advice. He thought about asking Iwaizumi but the third year seemed to be just as straightforward as Tobio and Tibio didn't think that that would work in this scenario. Oikawa would probably come up with some sort of plan.

Too bad he never got to ask him.

Maybe he should have picked another day.

Instead, since he had finally been placed in a game, since he finally had his time on the court, he was so happy and excited that he thought luck just might be on his side. So he asked. He didn't think about the fact that Oikawa had been _pulled_ from the game so Tobio could play.

Tobio supposed he should consider himself lucky that Iwaizumi had been there as well.

He did try again but Oikawa just made a face at him and walked away.

So there went that plan.

The third years graduated and Tobio became the official setter. He formed a friendship, or a kind of friendship, with Kunimi and Kindaichi. And he thought things were going well.

Until his mother met Noguchi-san.

He wasn't really sure how they met. He hadn't really cared, at first. But then his mother invited Noguchi-san over for dinner one night so Tobio could "get to know" him.

It was an awkward dinner with Tobio not knowing what to say or do. Noguchi-san seemed to be just as uncomfortable and his mother was sitting at the table with pinched lips, throwing Tobio glares every so often. He excused himself from the table as soon as he could and made his way back into this bedroom.

It was a little over an hour later when he left his room to get a glass of water. He had just stepped into the hall when he heard his mother and Noguchi-san speaking. He knew he shouldn't have done it but the second he heard his voice he had stopped moving.

"His father left me when I was pregnant," his mother said bitterly. Tobio frowned in confusion. His mother had always just said he didn't have a father. He assumed that meant his father had died. There wasn't any pictures of the man and his mother refused to talk about him. He didn't even know the man's name. "He told me he didn't care that we weren't soulmates. But that changed when he met the bimbo. Suddenly he couldn't get away fast enough. Said I would 'understand' when I met my own soulmate."

Was that the reason his mother hated soulmates so badly? Because of his nameless father? Because he had left her?

"I understand," Noguchi-san said calmly. Tobio's brow furrowed as the man continued to speak. "The same thing happened with my ex-wife. We were together throughout high school and married after we graduated. We were happy until she suddenly met her match when she was working. Then I was no longer good enough."

"It's ridiculous!" his mother snapped out. "You shouldn't base a relationship on that! There are plenty of people that aren't romantic with their soulmates and perfectly happy with other partners!"

"I agree with you," Noguchi-san sighed. "But that isn't why I'm saying that we shouldn't take this any further."

"It isn't?" his mother asked sardonically. "We were fine yesterday! Now you suddenly don't want to see me again? Then give me a reason other than you don't want me because I'm not your soulmate!"

There was silence for a moment and Tobio slowly moved forward. His mother had been seeing Noguchi-san? Why didn't she tell him?

Finally, Noguchi-san let out a deep sigh, "Honestly, I've never wanted to be a father. I was going to try because I care about you. But I just don't think that-"

"So it's that little brat," Tobio jerked back at the pure venom in his mother's voice. He had heard that tone before and it never ended well for him. Truthfully, the older he got the more he had tried to stay out of the house for long periods of time. His mother terrified him. "It's always his fault! He screwed up my entire life! If it wasn't for him-"

"Calm down, Ayame," Noguchi-san said softly as Tobio's jaw dropped when he heard his mothers given name. "He is your son."

"Unfortunately-"

Tobio didn't want to hear anymore. He quickly and silently made his way back into his room and shut the door. He leaned back against his closed door and took a deep, shaky breath. His father had left his mother because she wasn't his soulmate. His mother wants nothing to do with him. She blamed him. For everything.

Things began to get worse after that. Tobio felt like he was losing control. Of everything. His mother was almost never home and, when she was, she was always angry. Always yelling. Telling him he would never amount to anything. That the only thing he was good at was a game that wouldn't take him anywhere in life.

He started to throw himself into volleyball. His school marks were slipping. His mother was even more furious when she saw the marks. She threatened to make him quit the team. But she changed her mind when she decided volleyball was the only way he was going to get into a good high school as he "would never make it in with those brains".

He was named captain. He thought that maybe things were going to get better.

It was shortly before his third year that he came into the kitchen to find his mother waiting for him. Tobio had been surprised. She hadn't been home in two weeks. "Okasan?"

"Sit down, Tobio," she said, her voice soft for the first time in months.

Tobio slowly made his way toward the table. He slid into the seat across from her and watched her warily. She took a deep breath and then looked him straight in the eye. "Tobio, Noguchi and I are going to be married."

 _I've never wanted to be a father._

He knew he should say something. Should congratulate her. Should do something.

But what?

She let out a sigh, "You could at least congratulate me, Tobio."

"Congratulations," he responded automatically.

She scowled, "It doesn't count now," she let out a deep sigh and shook her head. "We're getting off track. Tobio, I will be moving into Noguchi's home."

 _I will be moving…_

"And me?" Tobio asked, his throat feeling like it was closing in on itself. He wasn't even sure how the words had managed to make it out.

She stared at him with a blank face, "Tobio, you're old enough to survive without me. This house was gifted by your grandparents. I will give you a weekly allowance for food and other necessities. You can always contact me if anything else is needed. However, I think this arrangement will be the best for both of us."

Tobio stared at her. She was leaving him. She was moving on with her life.

She didn't want him in it.

He wasn't even sure when his mother left. He was staring at the table, his head swimming, and when he looked up, she was gone.

He didn't see her again. She didn't return to the house before the new term started. A week into the school year, he returned home to find most of her belongings no longer in the house and his "allowance" sitting on the kitchen table. The house now just contained his own things and whatever she had deemed to leave him.

He was alone.

He began to take comfort in the words that decorated his skin. He chuckled at the banter between his soulmates. He wondered how they would feel when they realized he was there. That he could see everything they were writing.

He wondered if they would be upset.

He threw himself into volleyball. He needed to be the best. It was obvious his mother wasn't going to help him in anyway. If he wanted to play in high school, if he wanted the chance to meet his soulmates and play on the same court as them, he was going to have to do it on his own.

He knew he was pushing too hard. He knew he was alienating the only two people that had ever given him a chance. It was like he was trapped inside his head. He knew what was happening, he knew he should stop, but he couldn't. It just kept happening. He was so irritated. Every time Kindaichi missed a spike, he heard his mothers voice telling him volleyball was all he was good for. Every time he saw Kunimi refuse to run toward a ball he saw his mothers reluctance to be around him.

He felt like he was slowly losing his mind.

And then it happened. He had finally pushed them too far. They turned their backs on him. His only friends. The game he loved. Abandoned once again.

He sat on the bench and looked up, not wanting to see them playing without him. That was when he saw them. Oikawa was staring at him in disgust. Iwaizumi was frowning and sent him what Tobio was sure was supposed to be a reassuring smile when he saw him looking. It came out as a grimace. His eyes flooded with tears. Yes, Oikawa had reason to be disgusted with him. So did Iwaizumi. Tobio had taken the team they built and single handedly destroyed whatever chance they had at the finals.

He would be disgusted with him as well.

He grabbed a towel and threw it over his face to hide his tears. He felt like his entire body was crumbling from the inside. It was official now. He had lost is chance. There was no way any team would be interested in him now. No way he would be able to find his soulmates and play with them. And even if he did find them, would they want him now? After everything he had done?

He was the last to leave the gym after the game. His team wanted nothing to do with him. His coach had just stared at him before following after them. He had moved slowly toward the door, ignoring the murmurs that followed after him. As soon as he stepped into the hall, he wished he had just stayed in the gym.

Oikawa was waiting. Iwaizumi was nowhere in sight. He was probably talking to the other third years. He wondered if he was aware that Oikawa had come to see Tobio.

"Poor King," Oikawa was in disgust, pushing himself away from the wall. Tobio flinched as the name passed Oikawa's lips. "Are you happy with what you have accomplished?"

Tobio clenched his jaw and forced his way past the bigger boy. He didn't want to do this. Oikawa had managed to ignore him for years. Why couldn't he continue doing so now?

But Oikawa wasn't going to let him get away easily.

He grabbed Tobio's shoulder and spun the other boy around. Tobio gasped as his back slammed against the wall. "Listen, Tobio-chan," Oikawa snapped. Tobio sucked in a sharp breath as Oikawa leaned closer and hissed in his ear. "I hope you are not considering going to Aobajōsai. You've already destroyed one of my teams. I'm not letting you destroy a second one."

Tobio's jaw clenched as Oikawa pulled away and gave him one last scowl. "You might be a great setter, Tobio-chan. But if you continue down this path you will never amount to anything. Remember that."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the faves and alerts! And the great review! Let me know if you guys enjoy the story!

He didn't return to the volleyball club. The season was technically over anyway. He was sure that the team must have thought he was hiding from them. That they had finally broken away from him for good.

And, in a way, they did.

But that wasn't the reason he didn't go to the club. Even if they all hated him, even if they talked about him or completely ignored his existence, he still wanted to be in the gym. Practicing. Getting better.

But he couldn't.

He had attended school as usual the day after the last game. And, yes, he admitted that he had skipped practice. Like every year, it would be a party celebrating the third years last game.

They wouldn't want him there anyway.

It was that night that it happened. He had been watching a game when he suddenly felt as if his leg was on fire. He cried out helplessly and grasped at his knee. Through his tears he stared down at his knee in horror. It was already swollen and purple.

What the hell happened?!

The intense pain faded as quickly as it had appeared into a dull throb, something that had been described in the booklets he read. The pain he initially felt was whatever pain his soulmate was currently feeling. Tobio would just feel a dull throb until his soulmate's injury was completely healed. And, by the looks of his swollen knee, whatever had happened was serious. Very serious.

He wondered if his soulmate was going to be able to play volleyball.

He wondered if this was the end for him as well.

He skipped the next two days of classes. The dull throbbing was still present and his knee had turned a sickly shade of blue-green. It hurt but he didn't think that his slight limp was that noticeable. Not enough that anyone would really notice. No one paid him that much attention anyway. Though he was wondering if he was making it worse by putting pressure on it. Even if it wasn't his injury, was he still able to irritate it?

He got his answer later that night.

 **What the hell are you doing?! The Doctors said to stay down!**

 _I am! What are you doing?!_

 **Don't lie to me!**

 _I'm not!_

 **I'm not arguing about this.**

 **Just stay down!**

Well, apparently he shouldn't have gone to class.

Luckily enough for him, it seemed that the two were cleared to go back to class the next week, though the one that was actually injured was regulated to crutches. But the other person was fine to walk around, as long as they were careful, so Tobio figured it was okay for him too.

Things seemed to improve slowly and Tobio was careful when he practiced on his own. He mostly just worked on his sets and didn't attempt to do anything that would harm the injury any further. Like jump serves. As much as he wanted to practice so he could try and match Oikawa, to prove him wrong, he knew he couldn't.

Not yet.

He spent the rest of break that way. His mother seemed to somehow know that he wouldn't be in the house during the day because each week he would return to the house to find the weekly allowance sitting on the table. He briefly wondered why she didn't just leave enough for the month so she wouldn't have to stop by each week. It wasn't as if she ever came when he was there anyway.

He hadn't seen her since that conversation before his third year.

It had been a year now.

He had only spoken to her twice during that time. Both were short conversations about his school marks and future plans and both ended with his mother hanging up the phone on him in anger.

Soon enough, it was time for Tobio to start Karasuno. His knee had finally stopped aching and he figured that meant he was now free to go full out during practice. The writing he saw somewhat confirmed that as the two seemed to be talking about all the things they were planning for their first practice. Apparently, the one with the pretty writing was captain of his team. And the one with the messy writing was the vice captain.

Tobio wished he knew what school they attended.

It wasn't as if anyone would miss him if he suddenly decided to move to Tokyo. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

But here he was, starting at Karasuno. He just needed to get to Nationals. His soulmates were planning on making it there this year, so said the pretty one, so he needed to as well. After all, this was most likely his one chance before the two of them graduated and began with the rest of their lives.

He wanted to meet them before then.

He was scared that if he didn't, he never would.

And it terrified him.

He found himself in the gym on the first day. First years weren't supposed to start club activities until the following week but Tobio _needed_ to step on the court again. He needed to be there, to forget the last time he was on the court. To forget about his team, his friends, turning away from him. From feeling as if volleyball itself had somehow forsaken him.

He needed to be on the court.

Even if he was the only one there.

He changed into his practice clothes quickly, making sure the sleeves of his shirt were pulled down, and hurried into the gym. As soon as he stepped foot inside he felt his entire body relax. He hadn't realized how tense he was until this moment. He strode over to the ball bin quickly before making his way toward the net. He was finally able to work on his serve.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He could see Oikawa serving. Could see the way he threw the ball up and the exact angle he jumped at. But could he actually do it? Could he do it without Oikawa explaining it to him? He let his eyes open slowly and threw the ball into the air. Slightly too high but he could try it. He moved forward to jump and lost focus as loud screaming broke through his concentration. He landed hard, stumbling slightly as he turned his eyes to the person that had distracted him.

There was a…kid?... standing there. A very familiar kid.

The one that could jump.

He remembered him.

Oh, he should probably listen.

Why was this kid yelling at him again?

"How can I defeat you if we're on the same team? Shouldn't you be at some other school with strong players? Why didn't you go there?" The kid demanded.

 _Because none of them wanted me._ Tobio looked away from the kid before he could see the thought crossing his face. "The strongest schools in the prefecture…rejected me," Tobio muttered. He wasn't sure why he was admitting this to this kid but whatever. It wasn't like they weren't going to find out eventually.

"You didn't make it?" The kid asked with a confused frown plastered across his face. "Even though you're the King of the Court?"

Everything in his body seemed to recoil as that name passed the kids lips. "Don't… call me that!" He snarled, inwardly flinching at the tone of his voice. That wasn't him. That was his mother.

He didn't want to be like his mother.

"The first setter of Kitagawa is on our team?" a voice said, making Tobio turn around instantly. "But that guy's totally cocky."

Great. Apparently his reputation was well known.

He had hoped this school was off the mark enough that they wouldn't have heard the rumors.

"Don't try to intimidate him, okay?" another voice asked.

 _Intimidate? I went to school with Oikawa._

"I-I wouldn't do something like that."

Tobio forgot about shorty as he turned to face the three upperclassman that walked into the gym. The one in the middle had dark hair and a powerful build. The one to left was slim with light hair and a smile. Then there was the one on the right. He was bald and, obviously, the one that was going to intimidate him. It was the bald one that moved forward first. "Hey, hey, hey. Who said you guys could…" he was cut off as the guy in the middle grabbed the back of the bald guys jacket and hauled him backwards.

"You're Kageyama?" The middle guy asked.

"Yes."

"Glad you're here."

"You're tall," the man with grey hair commented.

The bald one moved forward once again. "He needs an initiation, Suga-san! Let's give him a reason to be intimidated!"

Tobio vaguely noticed the bald one once again trying to 'intimidate' him but his attention was caught by the short kid once again. He seemed to be even closer to the ground and he was sneaking around the backs of the seniors. Was he not supposed to be here or something?

He tilted his head slightly as the kid suddenly stood up straight and smiled happily.

Was this kid insane?

"How tall are you?" the guy in the middle questioned and Tobio turned his attention away from the kid.

"180 cm," he replied as the kid began to talk.

"You're cocky!" Bald guy commented loudly. Tobio frowned. How was he cocky? They had asked him a question and he answered it. Was he supposed to lie?

"Hello!"

Oh. Shorty was yelling again.

And then baldy was yelling as well.

"Oh! You! Shorty number one!"

The one in the middle lifted some papers in surprise. "So the other applicant here, Hinata, is…you?" he questioned. "I'm a little surprised. So both of you are here at Karasuno."

 _Both of us?_

"We saw your match last year," the grey haired one explained.

But baldy was more telling. "You're way short and sucked bad! But you have guts."

"Thanks!" the kid yelled out. What was his name again? Hinata?

"Your jumps were awesome, too," that was the grey haired one again. At least this was a comment Tobio could agree with.

"But you haven't grown much since!" Baldy chimed in.

 _Well, that's something else I can agree with._

Shorty yelled out something about being able to jump. And then he claimed that one day he would be the ace. Tobio clenched his jaw at the words. He had seen this kid play volleyball last year. He had seen how…horrible he was. This kid couldn't be his ace. He would never get to Nationals that way.

If he didn't get to Nationals, he wouldn't meet them.

He had to meet them.

"If you want to be the ace, I hope you've improved," Tobio said harshly. He knew it probably wasn't right but he couldn't let anyone come between him and Nationals. "If you goof around, you'll waste another three years."

Well, okay. The kid had a glare on him. "What did you say?" He turned around fully and stared into Tobio's eyes furiously. Tobio stood his ground. He wasn't going to back down. This kid had nothing on the people he had dealt with in the past. "I played with all my might. Don't tell me that everything I've done is a waste!"

"Guys," the dark haired guy tried to break in. "You know, you're not enemies anymore, right? Volleyball is about teamwork-"

"I'll challenge you!" Hinata (that was his name, right?) shouted. Apparently he hadn't heard a thing the other guy was saying.

"Hey, Daichi-san was talking!" Baldy shouted.

So the dark haired guy was Daichi?

"Challenge me to what?" Tobio asked. The other three weren't important. Not at the moment.

"Volleyball, what else?"

Right. "How do you expect to challenge me one on one?"

Apparently Hinata hadn't thought that far. "L-like a passing contest!"

Idiot.

"How do you compete at passing?" Tobio asked sarcastically. He thought he heard shouting but he was too focused on the other kid to really register what was going on. He might have heard someone else entering the gym but it wasn't important.

"Serve! I'll return them all! I was only able to get one of your serves last year. But I've been training with all kinds of people. I'm not the same person I was last year."

 _Didn't he receive my serve with his face?_

"Not the same as last year, huh?" Tobio questioned. _Good._ He picked up the nearest volleyball. "I'm not the same as last year, either." He moved quickly to the other side of the gym. Finally, he was able to get some practice in. "Here it goes!"

He threw the ball up and jumped, hitting the ball with all that he had. He watched the ball fly across the court and Hinata dived out of the way as the ball slammed to the ground. _Yes! Not as good as Oikawa's but it's a start._ "How is that different from last year?"

"One more!" the kid yelled out as he stood and glared at Tobio.

Tobio served once more, aiming for the corner of the court. Let the little guy try to get that-

He blinked in surprise as Hinata was suddenly in front of the ball. _Well, he has quick reflexes._ Then he watched in horror as Hinata moved into the wrong position. The ball bounced off of his arms, into his face, and then over toward the people standing by the door.

 _When did that old guy get here?_

Said bald guy was the person unfortunate enough to receive a ball to the face. Tobio's mouth dropped open in shock as the man's toupee flew off of his head and landed on a shocked looking Daichi. Tobio moved forward slowly, the horror in his stomach growing more and more the closer he got. He knew that man. Wasn't that the vice principal?

"He was wearing a wig?" Tobio couldn't help but ask.

"You just noticed?" Hinata answered with a smirk. "Everyone as the entrance ceremony could tell."

"You guys! Shut up!" The bald one said. He looked like he was going to start laughing at any moment.

"Tanaka, you shut up too!" Grey haired boy hissed. Ah. Well, at least he knew most of their names now.

Daichi was called outside and Tobio crossed his arms over his chest as he swallowed hard. Would they be in trouble? It was an accident!

Not that an accident ever stopped his mother from being angry. But maybe the vice principal would be different?

Or not.

Daichi walked back in with a strict look plastered across his face. Tobio moved quickly and stood next to the two seniors and the shorty. Daichi stood in front of them with his arms crossed. "Fortunately, he's not punishing us." Tobio felt his entire body lighten at those words. "Provided you all agree that you saw nothing." Tobio didn't think he was the only one that felt surprised at the words. He turned to Hinata just to see if the other boy had heard the same thing and by the shocked look the other boy was giving him, he supposed he did. "But you guys," Daichi continued darkly.

"All because you couldn't hit a serve! You suck!" Tobio snapped out as he turned to face Hinata. "What's so different than last year?"

"You suck!"

"Hey!" Daichi yelled out. Tobio turned to the captain in surprise. "I want you to listen to me! I don't know what your motive was for attending Karasuno. But I'm sure you came here with victory on your mind."

"Yes!"

Tobio was surprised to find that his left hand was gripping his right forearm where there had been a good luck message there this morning. Apparently it was the first day of the new term for his soulmates as well. "Of course!"

"Karasuno was one of the top teams in the prefecture till a few years ago." Daichi told them. "It happened only once, but we even went to nationals. Now we rank, at best, in the prefectures top eight. We're neither weak nor strong. Other schools call us things. Things like "fallen rivals" and the "crows that can't fly". I remember well when Karasuno competed in spring nationals. Students from my neighborhood, I'd pass by high school students that competed against the countries best teams in a huge gymnasium in Tokyo. It gave me goose bumps. We're going to go there again!"

Tobio stared at his new captain in shock. This was it. This was what he wanted. To go to Nationals. And to find others that wanted the same thing he did. People that would work as hard as he was to make it.

He was right to come here.

But still… "There are many schools dreaming of going to Nationals," he said flatly.

"Don't worry. I mean what I say." Tobio fought to keep a smile off of his face. That was what he wanted to hear. "For us to make that happen, our team has to be unified. And we can't have the vice principal keeping an eye on us. I'm not telling you guys to become buddies," Daichi commented, slowly moving forward. Tobio tensed. What was happening? "Even if you were enemies on opposite sides of the net in junior high, I need you to understand that now, you're on the same side. Do you get it?"

Tobio shivered at the look on the captain's face. He didn't like it. At all.

Even Oikawa had never glared at him like that.

"No matter how outstanding you are," Daichi started, slapping a hand down on Tobio's shoulder. He flinched. "No matter how willing you are to give it your all," a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "If you fail to get along and hinder our teammates," they were moving. "You're not welcome!" Daichi snapped. Tobio froze as his sign up form was thrown in his face.

This couldn't be happening.

"Until you realize that you're both teammates," Daichi snapped, "you won't be participating in this club!" The door slammed in their faces.

Tobio stared at the closed door. No. No, this couldn't happen. He couldn't have just been kicked out of the volleyball club. He couldn't have destroyed his one chance on the first day of high school. No.

"What does it mean to realize we're teammates?" Hinata questioned in shock. "How do you do it?"

"I have no idea!"

"Please let me in! Please let me play volleyball! I'll get along with Kageyama, too!"

Tobio clenched his fists as no answer came. "I apologize! I swear I'll get along with this guy! Please let me participate in this club!" Tobio jumped back in surprise as the door slid open and an eye peered at him through the small crack.

 _Well, that's creepy._

"Are you sure you meant that?"

Did he? Could he? Probably not. But did he want to play? "If I had to cooperate with that guy in a match, I'd rather receive, spike, and toss all by myself."

"How could you say that?" Hinata yelled out in indignation.

But Daichi was laughing. Was that a good thing? "I can't believe you just told me your true feelings. But I think that's a good thing. Still, in volleyball, you can't drop the ball, you can't hold the ball, and one player can't touch the ball twice. How do you plan to play by yourself?"

Tobio scowled as Daichi slid the doors closed once more.

Apparently it wasn't a good thing.

"Let me ask you something," came an eerie voice behind him. "Are you actually stupid?"

Tobio flinched at the words but managed to hide it quickly. They weren't anything new, after all. He had heard them often enough. He sank down on the steps, ignoring the group of guys that came to the gym only a few minutes later. He had to find a way to get back in that gym. What would he have to do? He couldn't leave and transfer. Not now. Not that he already started.

"The court and ball are in front of my eyes," Hinata muttered. Tobio looked up to see the kid somehow hanging from the windowsill. "And it sucks that I'm not allowed in…"

"Dammit! I have no time to waste like this!" Tobio yelled out as he jumped to his feet. "I'm going to make them let me in!"

"You realize we're teammates now?"

Dumbass.

"I'm a force to be reckoned with! That's enough reason for me to be allowed on the team!"

"Just what I would expect from the King-" Tobio glared as Hinata clapped a hand over his mouth. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll challenge them," Tobio said decisively. "To a two on two match. If we win, they have to let us in. If we team up then we'll appear friendly not matter how we feel. That will speed things up."

Hinata's mouth dropped open. "We're going to challenge our senpais? What if we lose?!"

 _I can't lose. I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't!_

"We won't lose. You have me on your side. You just need to do the best you can to not get in my way." He didn't have time for this. They needed to get back in that gym so he could start practicing. So they could make it to Nationals.

He listened in surprise as Hinata went on to explain that the only match he had participated in during junior high was the one against Tobio. Bad luck. And then he heard the boy mention practicing in random areas. Like hallways.

How odd.

"What are we going to do?" Tobio finally asked, "if we don't go in together, they'll slam the door."

"If I can play volleyball," Hinata started, "I can endure anything for a little while! No matter how obnoxious you are! I'll do my best to keep from seeing you!"

Tobio snarled, "That's my line, you idiot!"

The argument was broken up as a girl came in between them. Apparently, she wanted in the gym. Tobio figured that she must be the volleyball manager. He was proven right as that bald guy, what was his name again?, ran up and began to speak with her. Tobio rolled his eyes. The bald one was able to be in the club. Why was he wasting his practice time talking to some girl?

He fumed as the grey haired one moved forward and closed the door in their faces once more. "We're getting back in that gym."

"Agreed!"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: New chapter! Let me know if you're enjoying the story!

Well, he got the match he wanted. Of course, he didn't expect it to be against the two other new first years. It was unexpected but it all worked out in the end. Not only had they won the game, he had also been able to confirm his belief that Hinata was a complete idiot.

An idiot that could hit his toss but an idiot, nonetheless.

He hit the ball _with his eyes closed_.

Who does something like that?

They two of them, as well as Tanaka, had practiced every morning and every night for days. Tobio had forced himself to actually listen to Hinata and try to work with him. Had listened to the advice Suga (his vice-captain and the current main setter) had given him. And they had won. They were on the team. So were the other two first years – Yamaguchi and Tsukishima.

He wasn't exactly happy that Tsukishima was there. That snarky bastard. At least he was tall.

He was breathing a sigh of relief when a man suddenly ran into the room. Tobio stared at him with a frown as the man doubled over with his hand on his knees. He really shouldn't run if his stamina was that bad. "It's decided! It's decided!" The man gasped out loudly as he stood. His eyes were shining behind his glasses. "The practice match! It's against one of the top four teams in the prefecture!" He breathed out with a bright smile. Tobio blinked at the words. _One of the top four teams? Who would want to have a practice match with us? Karasuno hasn't been one of the top schools in years._ "Aoba Johsai High School."

 _No._

Tobio took a step back and shook his head. Maybe he heard that wrong. He _had_ to have heard that wrong. They wouldn't – why would _they_ want to have a practice game with Karasuno? It didn't make any sense!

"The one nicknamed Seijoh?" Suga questioned in surprise.

 _I knew it! They've never done this before! Why would they want a match now of all times?_

"Yikes," Tsukishima muttered. _Damn. I hate agreeing with that bastard._

But Hinata didn't seem to know any better. "A practice match with one of the top four!"

"Aoba Johsai," Tobio muttered darkly, a certain setter flashing through his mind. The feel of his hand, tight on his shoulder. The wall at his back. The words that were growled at him. _"I hope you are not considering going to Aobajōsai. You've already destroyed one of my teams. I'm not letting you destroy a second one."_ He shivered and stared down at the gym floor. He didn't want to see him again. Not this soon. Not yet.

He was so into his own thoughts that he apparently missed the next part of the conversation by the man with the horrible stamina because Hinata leaned over into his personal space. "Who is he? A teacher?"

"I don't know," he responded, his mind still overtaken by floppy brown hair and hard eyes.

"I'm the volleyball club advisor starting this year," the man said walking over toward them. "I'm Takeda Ittestu."

"Hello."

"I have no volleyball experience, so I can't help you with your technique, but for anything else, I'll do my very best," Takeda said with a smile.

 _Useless._

Daichi and Suga walked up then and Tobio listened in interest as the two boys asked how a powerhouse school agreed to a practice match with Karasuno. As soon as Takeda mentioned the fact that Seijoh had a condition, Tobio tensed. None of it made any sense. And the only person that would know anyone on Seijoh's team was him. Would Oikawa really-

"Kageyama-kun must play setter the entire game."

-he would. He really, really would.

"What's this about?" Tanaka demanded. "It's like they aren't interested in Karasuno at all. They just want to assess Kageyama."

Yes. That is exactly what they wanted.

Well, exactly what _he_ wanted.

"Well, that's not quite how it is."

"Sounds good," Suga commented and Tobio felt himself freeze. Suga. The team's official setter. The person that he was going to be replacing in this practice game because of Seijoh.

Was this Oikawa's way of sabotaging him even with Tobio not following him to Aobi Johsai?

"We don't get a chance like this often," Suga continued as Tobio continued to stare at him in horror.

Tanaka didn't seem happy about the events either. "You're going to agree to that, Suga-san? You're the official setter of Karasuno, Suga-san!"

Tobio felt his hands clench at his sides. He wanted to play. But he couldn't let what happened in Junior High happen again. He wanted…he wanted them to like him. He didn't want Suga to be another Oikawa.

"I-" Suga started as he looked up and met Tanaka's eyes. "I want to see how effective Hinata and Kageyama's attack will be against a top four team."

Tobio felt his eyes widen in surprise. So…he wasn't… angry? His mind flashed back to the game in Junior High his first year. The one where he was put in in place of Oikawa. And what happened after. The feel of Oikawa's hand gripping his uniform. Pulling his other hand back. Tobio closing his eyes in anticipation of the punch.

The disappointment on his mothers face when she saw his school marks. The furious gaze focused on him when she saw the words on his arms. The sting of her hand against his face.

"Sensei, may we have the details?" Daichi asked.

Tobio shook the thoughts from his mind as Tekada answered. "Sure. The schedule is rather sudden but it's set for Tuesday next week." _Next week?!_ "It'll be after classes, so there will only be time for one game. We'll rent the bus after school. Make sure you aren't late."

"Yes," they chorused though Tobio wanted to keep his own mouth shut.

He didn't want to go.

He didn't want to see them. Any of them.

Even Iwaizumi. He had always liked the older boy but this…this was too horrible.

Oikawa was going to destroy his volleyball career before it even started.

He waited until practice had finished and then followed at a slow pace behind his senior. He needed to do this but he kept thinking of the last time he tried to talk to his senior setter one on one. Even after only knowing Suga a couple of weeks, he knew he was nothing like Oikawa. But he had never thought Oikawa would be… like he was either. Maybe Suga was just hiding it. Regardless, he had to do this. "Sugawara –san!"

Suga turned in surprise as Tobio jogged toward him. "I have to play setter by default this time," he told the older boy. "But from now on I will earn my place." _Please don't hate me because of Oikawa._

"Huh?" Suga questioned with a small smile. "Oh, I thought you weren't concerned about me at all. I wasn't expecting that."

Now Tobio was confused. Why wouldn't Tobio be concerned? "Why would you think that?"

"Because you're superior to me in athleticism and talent," Suga said bluntly and Tobio felt the anger burn in his chest at the words.

"You can't make up for a lack of experience that easily!" He growled out as his mind once again flashed to another third year setter. "And also…"

Tobio cut off as three voices called out to the older boy. They both turned sharply and saw Daichi walking toward them with Hinata and Tanaka. Tobio scowled and turned back toward Suga quickly. He had to say this. "I h-have to earn the t-t-trust of the other team members." He forcefully shook his head to rid himself of the image of the ball falling onto the court, no one there to hit it. Of his team turning away from him. "Therefore, I will never give up!"

He was shaking as Suga stared at him with wide eyes. _Damn, was that too forward? Did he just blow it? Was this going to be a repeat of Junior High?_ "Yeah," Suga said finally, a smile crossing his face. "I won't give up either." The smile slowly fell off of his face as his eyes stayed locked on Tobio's, despite the fact that the other three were running toward them and yelling something about pork buns. "Aoba Johsai is where most of the athletes from Kitagawa Daiichi move on to, right?" He finally questioned and Tobio felt his entire body stiffen. He didn't want to talk about this.

"You could say that," Tobio confirmed anyway.

"So…" Suga continued, looking a little uncomfortable himself. "I'm just wondering if you might be uncomfortable with that."

 _Yes._

"I might be if they were on the same team," he answered. Suga didn't need to know of his previous issues with his teammates. "But if they're my opponents, I'll fight with all I've got."

Tobio watched as a genuine smile crossed Suga's face. "I see. I suppose you would."

 _…was that a compliment?_

That was when Tanaka decided it was time to cut into the conversation. "But are you alright with that, Suga-san? I…I just can't accept that!"

They were already turning against him.

But Suga was still smiling, "Sure, I'm a little frustrated," he said and Tobio felt himself wince. "But," Tobio jumped in shock as the third year moved and placed a hand on his shoulder. Why was he touching him? "I also want to show them that Kageyama's completely different from his junior high days."

 _…completely different…_

"That's true," Daichi showed up with bags of food in hand. "Plus, we'll show them that Kageyama's not the only one they need to worry about. Right, Hinata?"

The attention turned to the short boy only to see him stuffing his face full of food and not paying the slightest bit of attention. This was the guy he was supposed to play with? "Why are you eating first?!" He and Tanaka both yelled out. However, a man came out of the store beside them and yelled at them for being loud. Tobio apologized as he let Hinata's shirt go. When had he even moved toward the other boy?

He quickly moved over toward Suga and asked for a curry pork bun. This was perfect. He had somehow run through the allowance for this week and he hadn't been sure if he was going to find a way to eat anything for dinner. He probably had milk but he needed actual food as well. He would have to make sure to properly thank Daichi.

They moved into the store and Tobio focused on his food. It turned out he was able to not eat just one bun but two. He really, really needed to make sure to thank his captain. "Hey, Kageyama, after you're done eating could I ask you something?"

"Sure," Kageyama responded through a mouthful of food. What would they want to know?

"I was wondering about Hinata's position for the upcoming practice match," Daichi responded. "What do you think?"

Tobio put his food down as he focused his thoughts on the redhead and volleyball. "Middle blocker," Tobio finally responded.

"Huh?"

"He's fast. And he can jump. The way he moves – he'd be in a good position to use our quicks. And to draw the attention of the other team. Middle blocker. Decoy. The way he jumps around will confuse the other team and will let us make plays before they even know what's going on."

Daichi and Suga exchanged a quick glance and then Daichi slowly nodded. "Alright. If that's what you think."

The idiot better not mess this up.

Tobio hurried home shortly after he finished eating. The house, as always, was cold and silent. He didn't even pause as he made his way past the main room. He was never in there. He usually focused on three rooms – his bedroom, the kitchen, and the bathroom.

The rest of the house might as well have never been lived in.

He moved toward his room and instantly moved toward his desk. He placed a disk into his computer and quickly pressed play. He then focused on the game in front of him the rest of the night.

After all, if he was going to beat Oikawa, he needed to know how their team worked.

It was the next day that Daichi revealed the set up for the practice match. Tobio made sure to keep his face blank as Daichi told Hinata that he would be a middle blocker. He didn't want the other boy to know that he had anything to do with it.

But he did need to make sure that Hinata was aware he was also the decoy. It wouldn't matter if the other boy didn't do it right.

Apparently he put too much pressure on the other boy. Oops.

They continued with practice and Tobio found himself sighing more and more as he worked with Hinata. It was a good thing the boy was quick. He sucked at everything else.

It was three days before the match that Tobio woke with his ankle aching. He gasped and threw he blanket off of himself as he looked down. It was swollen and irritated.

 _What happened? Did I do something yesterday? Did I land wrong? Did I hit something? What the hell?! I have a match soon!_

He stood quickly, wincing when he placed pressure on his right foot. It hurt but it was like…a phantom pain.

You have got to be kidding.

Tobio looked at his bare arms quickly.

 **What the hell?!**

 _Oops! Don't worry though! I'm fine!_

 **This doesn't seem to be fine!**

 _Stop fussing. I'll be able to play._

Tobio groaned. Why did the one with the pretty writing always seem to do something to hurt himself? There wasn't time for Tobio to deal with this! With a frustrated cry, he pulled himself down the hall and into the kitchen to grab a cold wrap. Hopefully this would help calm it down so he could practice this afternoon.

It did indeed calm down enough that he could practice. His soulmate hadn't been lying – this was nowhere near as bad as the knee. By the time practice came around the only thing he felt was a slight twinge when he jumped.

By the time Monday came around he was ready to play. Well, physically anyway. Mentally – well, he still didn't want to do this. It was the first time in his life he didn't want to play volleyball.

At least he was better than Hinata.

Tobio was staring in complete shock as the small redhead tried to put his jacket on – by stepping into it. "Kageyama, is Hinata going to be all right tomorrow?" Daichi whispered as Tobio continued to stare in complete shock at the other boy.

"Will he be alright?" Tobio answered. _No. No, I don't think he will._ "What do you mean?" He asked instead.

"Hinata's only experience is at that one match in junior high. I think he's really anxious and worried because of that," Daichi explained while Tobio continued to watch in horror as Hinata struggled to get dressed. "That's why I think he might be nervous. "

"But everyone feels nervous-" Tobio started before Suga jumped in with a glare.

"There, see? You make light of the anxiety we cowards feel!"

Tobio took a startled step back and had to freeze as he ran into the shelves behind him. He hated it when people snapped at him like that. He wasn't trying to make light of what they were feeling, he just didn't understand why _they_ would be so anxious.

"No matter what I say, it adds pressure," Daichi sighed.

Tobio leaned against the shelves and crossed his arms over his chest protectively. They needed to understand. "You can't help it at first," he told them. Before he could say anything else his attention was drawn to Hinata. The boy was slowly making his way toward the door and Tobio was afraid the kid was actually going to pass out. "I think it's best to leave him alone," he finally said.

"I wonder," Dachi sighed once more.

Tobio wondered if maybe he should have said something to Hinata. The boy had actually thrown up on Tanaka on the bus ride to Aoba Johsai and he looked as if he was going to pass out. Tobio let out a sigh as he took off his jacket and quickly checked his arms. No writing was visible. Good. He had cover up in his bag if something had been noticeable but it was always better when he didn't have to use it. There was a chance on it rubbing off during the match. He was just lucky his soulmates had decided not to communicate today.

He let out a deep sigh as he saw Hinata trip over his own feet. It was bad enough that he and a few of the other guys had heard two of the other team commenting on their team. It was worse that one of those two was Kindiachi. But this – this was not good. He needed Hinata to be on his game for their strategy to work.

They lined up for the match and Tobio's eyes traced over the team in front of him. Oikawa wasn't here. How was Oikawa not here? His eyes landed on Iwaizumi who was also looking down the line. He finally rested on Tobio and the corners of his lips twitched upwards as he bowed his head slightly. Tobio bowed his own in return. He always liked Iwaizumi – he was the only third year during his first year of junior high that had even bothered with him. The others ignored him. Well, besides Oikawa. But Oikawa certainly had never been nice.

Where _was_ he?

They moved into their positions quickly and Tobio heard Kindaichi commenting on Hinata's height. He smirked. Yes. Focus on Hinata.

"What's Kageyama doing at Karasuno?"

That was Iwaizumi. Tobio stiffened. He didn't need to listen to this. Instead, he focused on Hinata. The kid really needed to calm down. "Just like the three on three!" he told the still shaking boy.

"I-I know that!"

 _Right…_ "Are you sure?"

He didn't have a chance to answer as the game began. The other team served first and the ball flew right toward the captain. But before he could get it, Hinata stumbled in his path and messily received it. "Idiot, that obviously wasn't your ball!" Tobio couldn't help but snap.

"I'm sorry!"

Tanaka moved in to spike and Tobio dove toward the ball as it bounced off the block. He cursed as the ball hit the floor before he could reach it. Tobio stood as he stared at Hinata. The boy was almost green.

 _This guy…he's completely overwhelmed._

He was proven correct as Hinata continued to make a complete mess of things. He slammed into Tanaka, almost tripped Tobio, and even ran into the ref stand. Ennoshita actually had to hold him back as he moved toward the smaller boy furiously. This was not how this was supposed to go! He was supposed to prove himself to his old teammates and Hinata was ruining everything!

After a few more mess ups from Hinata, Tobio couldn't stand it anymore. He stormed toward the redhead and grabbed his jersey. "Hey, you! That's enough nervousness!"

"Give me another chance!"

Daichi pulled the two apart and turned to Tobio. "Let's get the points. The next up to serve will be-" he trailed off as he realized what Tobio had already seen.

Hinata was up to serve.

 _Well, this couldn't be timed worse…_

Tobio turned and focused in front of him as Hinata moved into position. "Kageyama, is he still breathing? Can he do this?" Tanaka asked quietly beside him.

"How am I supposed to know?" Tobio snapped back. Could Hinata usually do this? Messily but yes. Could he do it right at this moment? Based on how he had been acting this entire game, no.

The whistle blew and Tobio prepared himself for Hinata's serve to miss.

He didn't prepare himself for the feel of the ball against his head.

The ball slammed into his head and he felt himself fall forward. He had to take a step to keep himself from hitting the ground. From somewhere across the net, he heard a muffled curse. But Tobio didn't bother with that. Instead, he stood fully and turned toward the hellion that had been destroying their chances during this match.

Hinata was staring at him blankly. Apparently, he couldn't believe it either. It was then that Tanaka and Tsukishima began to laugh, throwing in comments as they did so. It only enraged Tobio further. He was tired of people laughing at him.

Tobio began to move toward Hinata and the other boy slowly backed away, his hands up in the air, as he stuttered, "W-w-wait! Once we talk about this, you'll understand!" The boy was shaking as Tobio continued to move forward. "Kageyama!"

Tobio moved forward until he was right in front of the boy. "Just wondering…" Tobio started, his voice low.

"Y-yes?"

"Why are you so intimidated?" Tobio asked, leaning closer and making his voice lower. If he needed to scare Hinata to get him to focus, he would do it. "Why are you so nervous? Is it because your opponents are tall? Is it because this is your first practice match?" He leaned closer with every question and watched as the boy's eyes grew wider and wider. Tobio slowly brought his hand up and began to hit himself in the back of the head as he spoke. Each hit made his head ache as he continuously hit the spot the ball had slammed into a few moments before. He heard more cursing somewhere behind him. "There is nothing scarier than hitting a serve into the back of my head. Is there?"

"I can't think of anything," Hinata responded.

Tobio continued to hit his head, "In that case, you have no reason to be nervous any more, do you? Because you've already done it. The scariest thing possible." He stopped hitting his head and pointed toward the court as he began to shout, "Get back to normal, you jackass!"

Tobio turned around and quickly moved into line with a scowl on his face. They had lost the first set. They just needed to win the second.

Damn, his head hurt.

He heard Tanaka being "inspiring" as he talked to Hinata and Tobio had to roll his eyes. He was pretty sure Hinata was alright now. He didn't need any more help. But then Tanaka said something that actually surprised him. "On this side of the net, everyone is your ally. It doesn't matter if you're lousy! It doesn't matter if you're a nuisance. You can slow us down. But to make up for those things…that's why you have your team and your senpais!"

 _Idiot. It was good until the end, anyway._

The next set started and Hinata was much more calm than he had been previously. Good. They could start now.

Or not.

Tobio had thrown the quick to Hinata…and he missed. Damn. "If you can't spike a ball like that," Kindaichi whispered toward Hinata. Whispered. Right. Tobio was obviously supposed to hear this. "The king will get mad."

 _Wait…didn't Tanaka say Hinata ran into Kindaichi before the match. Did he…_

"Hinata!" Tobio said loudly, more loudly than he intended. Hinata jumped and turned toward him, Kindaichi smirking as his own eyes travelled toward him.

"You see?"

Tobio kept his face blank as he continued, "My bad. That toss was too high."

He walked away with a smirk. He had seen the shock that had crossed Kindaichi's face and the way Kunimi's eyes had widened. "I guess I can forgive you!" Hinata squeaked. The smirk fell from Tobio's face as he turned quickly and his hand shot out to grip Hinata's hair. "Ouch! Ouch! Kageyama!"

"I already apologized, idiot!"

They moved back into position and Tobio knew what he needed to do. Hinata jumped and Tobio tossed it into Hinata's hand. The ball flew forward, slamming onto the opposite court before any of the blockers knew what was happening. "Alright," Tobio announced to his team. Hinata is back in action. Time for a counter attack."

Tobio glanced to the other team and saw Iwaizumi staring at him with narrowed eyes. Tobio turned away from him quickly. Why was he looking at him like that?

It continued throughout the set. Tobio forced himself to turn his attention away from the third year and onto the game. He didn't know what was going on but Iwaizumi would have to wait. Maybe he was just studying him for Oikawa or something.

That seemed like something the other setter would have his soulmate do.

The set was going well, very well. The only hiccup was his little spat with Tsukishima. He really couldn't stand that guy. What the hell did he mean that his tosses made him sick?!

It didn't help when he and Tsukishima jumped to block one of Iwaizumi's spikes. The ball slammed to the ground and Tobio couldn't help but call out in happiness. Iwaizumi was staring at him from across the net, a smirk on his face. But then Tsukishima had to open his damn mouth.

"Hey, I'm the one that blocked it."

Tobio forced his eyes away from Iwaizumi. "What? It hit my hand too!"

"That's enough, you two!" Daichi screamed from behind them, making both Tobio and Tsukishima flinch.

"It did hit your hand," Iwaizumi agreed from the other side of the net, earning himself a glare from Tsukishima and a confused frown from Tobio. But his attention quickly moved to the laughing boy a little ways away from him.

"What are you grinning at?" Tobio snapped at Hinata.

"Kageyama! Stop it!"

They won the second set and Tobio felt extremely uneasy as they stood on the sidelines during break. "I'm glad they don't have another serve-hitter like Kageyama," Enoshita commented and Tobio felt his anxiety kick in. He felt as if those words had just cursed them.

"Yeah," Daichi responded with a smile. "I must admit our team is not good at receiving."

"We can't let our guard down," Tobio cut in as his eyes darted around the room. "I'm thinking that maybe," _definitely,_ "their setter wasn't their main setter…"

He broke off as loud screams started to ring around the gym.

 _No._

Tobio felt his eyes widen and his mouth drop open as he saw the person responsible for the screams. There he was. Oikawa Tooru.

"Oikawa, you're back," the coach commented. "How's the ankle?"

 _…ankle?..._

Tobio's eyes flickered toward Iwaizumi to see his reaction. But the other boy was not staring at his soulmate. He was still watching Tobio. Tobio looked away quickly. What the hell was his issue?

"It's fine. I can go back to regular practice," Oikawa said with that fake smile of his. "It was just a light sprain."

"For crying out loud, be careful!" The coach growled out. "You're the one that asked to play against Kageyama. What do we do without our official setter?"

 _I knew it!_

"I'm sorry," Oikawa apologized before he smiled and waved at some girls yelling down at him.

Tobio felt a snarl cross his face. Why were these girls here, anyway?

"Kageyama-kun, who's that nice guy?" Tanaka asked creepily and Tobio took a startled step back. "I find him unpleasant."

 _You and me both._

"He's the captain of Seijoh," Daichi answered instead.

"Oikawa-san is a super aggressive setter," Tobio cut in. They needed to know more than the fact that he was the team captain. There was so much more to him than that. "His attack power is probably among the top of his team. And he's got a terrible personality," Tobio continued with a snarl.

"You're saying that?" Hinata gasped and Tobio ignored the comment.

"Maybe even worse than Tsukishima."

"Wow, he must be really bad."

"Do you know him from Kitagawa Daiichi?" Tanaka asked.

"Yes," Tobio answered, flashes of his first year running through his mind. "He was my senpai in junior high."

It was at that moment that Oikawa turned toward them with that fake smile plastered on his face once again. "Long time no see, Tobio-chan?" He said with a wave. "Nice to see you!"

 _Lie._

"You still doing the king thing?"

 _Bastard._

Tobio didn't bother responding to him. He turned back toward his team. "I learned serving and receiving by watching him," he commented. "His skills are extremely high." He saw Hinata blanch from the corner of his eye and he turned toward the other first year. He couldn't freak out. Not again. "But we have to focus on the match now. We're going to win the final set for sure."

"Right."

Tobio turned around and saw Tanaka using that face of his to try and intimidate Oikawa. Tobio flinched. The one thing they didn't need to do was piss him off. "Tanaka-san, please stop with intimidation!"

Oikawa smirked at him one last time before he turned and went to warm up. Tobio hurried to get into position. They needed to win this. Quickly. If they didn't win before Oikawa got put into the game…well, there chances of winning decreased drastically.

They were focused and were winning the game easily. Well, not easily, but they were winning. They were close to winning it completely when Oikawa moved onto the court. Tobio cursed and wasn't surprised with Iwaizumi looked at him with a smirk.

Tobio frowned and took a step back. He watched in apprehension as Oikawa pointed to Tsukishima. Just what was he planning? The ball few toward the blonde and Tobio knew that this was it. He had to shut it down quickly or Aobajosai would take this round. Oikawa got the ball back in hand and smirked, "Just as I thought. I watched part of the match…you, number 6, and you, number 5. You're not good receivers, are you?" He asked with that sickly grin. Tobio's entire body tightened at the sight. He knew that smile. It never meant anything good. "You must be first years. Okay, let's score another one."

And score he did, serving right toward Tsukishima.

"Oh, one more point and we're tied," Oikawa said brightly as he got the ball once again.

"Hey! You! Great King!" Tobio turned to Hinata, eyes wide. What the hell was he doing?! "Aim here! I'll receive it! Don't underestimate me! Aim here!"

 _…idiot._

"Stop raising a fuss, it's embarrassing!" Tsukishima snapped. It was probably the first time Tobio agreed with the blonde.

"What did you say?" Hinata growled. "In volleyball, everyone on this side of the net is your ally!"

Tobio fought back a smirk at the disgust on Tsukishima's face. Trust Hinata to quote Tanaka at the irritating blonde.

"Alright, all of you scoot toward the back. Tsukishima, you go closer to the sideline," Daichi commented.

They did as instructed and Diachi prepared himself for the serve he knew was coming. Tobio felt something like pride toward his captain – it wasn't everyone that made himself vulnerable to Oikawa. "You can't defend it by yourself!" Oikawa said as he served – once again toward Tsukishima. But he got it up this time and Tobio saw Oikawa smirk. The ball flew toward Aobajosai and Oikawa received it cleanly. The setter set it to Kindaichi and Tobio watched as Hinata was there to block it.

"It's up!" Tobio yelled out as he ran forward to intercept it.

The second Hinata landed he took off to the other side of the net, ready to spike. _I can't catch up to him if I'm one step, one second behind_ , Tobio thought. _The only thing I can do to catch him…_ He tossed the ball quickly, knowing Hinata would be there. And he was. Hinata hit the ball, spiking it right past Oikawa's shoulder. Tobio felt a moment of pleasure at the pure shock on Oikawa's face. For the first time, that fake smile was gone and the irritation was there for all to see as he turned slightly to look at the ball that was rolling on the floor.

Karasuno had won. Tobio hurried to the sideline where Takada was waiting and bowed toward him with the rest of his teammates. Takada gave a speech that might have brought tears to Tobio's eyes for a moment. Or maybe that was the way Oikawa was still staring at them from across the court. Iwaizumi was standing next to him and seemed to be talking to him quietly. Tobio flinched as both their eyes fixated on him. Well, he finally had the attention he had craved from them in junior high…but he had a feeling it wasn't a good thing.

He stepped out of the gym quickly to avoid their eyes and saw Kindaichi a moment later. He took a deep breath and moved forward. Maybe, just maybe, if he made up with Kindaichi…maybe he could at least start to repair things. He had been a friend at one point. "Kindaichi," he said, intending to continue with his apology. But the moment he stood facing the other boy, that memory returned. Of him tossing the ball and no one being there to spike it. He shook his head and opened his mouth. He had to do this-

"Don't apologize!" Kindaichi snapped loudly. Tobio jerked back at the words. "Because I won't apologize either!"

Well, that wasn't going to work. "Okay," Tobio replied.

"You're still an oppressive king, as far as I'm concerned," Kindaichi continued. "You're irritating, and there's no one I want to crust more than you."

"Yeah," he could see that.

"So don't apologize!"

"Yeah."

"I'm not reconciling with you! We weren't friends in the first place."

 _We weren't? Oh._ "Yeah."

"And the next time, we'll win for sure!" Kindaichi took a step forward.

Well, Tobio couldn't agree with that. "The next time…" he broke off as he heard Hinata moving toward them, singing about going to the bathroom of all things. He saw Hinata round the corner and then duck back when he noticed Tobio and Kindaichi standing there. Tobio rolled his eyes and continued on, determined to ignore his teammate for the moment. "Kindaichi, the next time we battle, we will win again." Kindaich reared back and Tobio turned around walked toward Hinata.

"Did you cry?" HInata asked cheekily.

Tobio frowned, "Of course I didn't cry, idiot! Now go use the toilet!"

"You can't fool me, Kageyama-kun!" Hinata said with a grin.

"Hinata, you dumbass!" Tobio cursed, smacking the other boy in the head.

He had hoped that that was it. That they would all be able to return home and he wouldn't have to deal with Oikawa again until their next game together. He really should have expected Oikawa to be waiting for them at the gate. "Spoken like a true captain," Oikawa said with a smirk. The entire team stopped moving at the imposing figure. "You know your stuff." He gave them a haughty smirk and Tobiofrowned as half of his team recoiled.

"The Great King makes his entrance!" Hinata said loudly. Tobio turned to him with a frown. _The Great King…?_

"You got a problem?" Tanaka asked Oikawa, walking forward with Hinata ducking behind him.

"Wanna fight, huh?" Hinata questioned. _Dumbass_.

"Don't be so hostile," Oikawa said, that fake grin once again plastered on his face. "You, little one," Hinata paled, "your last one-touch and broad attack were amazing."

"Oh…" Hinata said with a blush.

Tobio scowled when he saw the look on Oikawa's face. It was the same look he would get right before he tore Tobio down during training in junior high. The look that always made Tobio feel like he wasn't worth anything. "Let's give it all we got the next time, right from the start," Oikawa continued. "You didn't get to see our set up. Oh, yes, and we'll be improving our serves, too," he said with a grin at Tsukishima. "It's true, your offense was amazing but your receives aren't polished. You'll reach your limit very quickly. I'm not the only one who hits powerful serves." He began walking forward, "The Inter-High preliminaries are coming up soon. Don't get eliminated, okay?" He stopped right in front of Tobio. "Because I…" he pointed and Tobio blanched as the glare hit him full force. "…want to pulverize my dear underclassman, setter-on-setter, in an official match."

Tobio's gaze narrowed in on Oikawa. He was aware that Hinata had spoken but he didn't know what the other had said. He was hyper focused on Oikawa. The other boy moved, walking right by Tobio, less than a hair between them and making Tobio flinch. It was after he passed that Tobio tuned back in, hearing Oikawa's parting comment. "There's not much time left till the tournament. I look forward to seeing you there."

Tobio panicked as the boy disappeared. If his team let Oikawa into their heads, if they let him tear them down the same way he had done to him in junior high, everything they were working toward would be lost. "Please don't listen. He likes to razz people like that."

But Daichi laughed. Tobio wondered if Oikawa really had broken his captain. "It's true. We don't have much time before the Inter-High preliminaries. But he should be coming back soon."

"Who's coming back?" Hinata questioned.

"The Guardian Deity of Karasuno," the captain answered, making Tobio's brow furrow in confusion.

 _The what now?_

Tobio stayed quiet as they went back to Karasuno and began to clean the gym. Just why was Iwaizumi so focused on him during the game? Yes, they had known each other years ago but he didn't think he had ever seen the third year that focused on anything. Tobio shook himself out of the thoughts as he made sure Hinata didn't fall asleep standing up and then went to the store down the street for buns… but they were out. The man at the counter threw them bars and Tobio bowed in thanks. He had panicked for a moment, wondering what he was supposed to eat that night. A power bar was better than nothing.

He walked home with the other club members, eating quickly and listening as Tanaka questioned why Tobio was at Karasuno. He answered truthfully that he had never received a recommendation to enter Shiratorizawa and had failed the entrance exam. He explained that Coach Ukai had been the reason he joined Karasuno, but Suga explained that Coach Ukai had collapsed and wouldn't be coaching them.

He kept the rest to himself. That his original plan had been to enter Aoba Josai and he had decided against it after the championship game and the words from Oikawa. He had decided to get into Shiratorizawa because of the rivalry. Because Oikawa would be forced to see that he had changed if he beat him. But when that failed as well, Karasuno had seemed like his best bet. He thought that with Coach Ukai, there would be a chance that they would make it to Nationals. That was the goal, after all. He needed to forget about this stupid _thing_ with Oikawa and focus on getting to Nationals so he could finally meet his soulmates.


	4. Chapter 4

After the practice match, Tobio took time off of his usual routine to go to the store and get some food for the house. Not much, he usually just grabbed something on the way to practice in the morning and ate lunch at the school, but he couldn't keep relying on his senpais to buy him food every night after practice. He didn't really know how to cook but he could easily make a sandwich or one of those meal things you just had to heat up.

He stocked up, getting enough to last him at least a couple of weeks, and then made sure to put the food in its proper place. It would just be a waste of money if it spoiled.

Thanks to his little shopping trip, he found himself at the school after Hinata. The boy shot him a mocking grin as he walked in and Tobio scowled. It wasn't as if he could just come here at anytime of the day. He had things to do!

He was practicing his serve when it happened. He had just served the ball when something flew into his line of sight and picked up the ball as if it was nothing. Tobio stared at him in shock.

 _That was a perfect serve receive!_

The boy looked to be around the same height as Hinata with dark, spiky hair. Well, most of it was dark. A section right at the front was a sandy brown color.

Why would anyone do that?

Tobio watched as Hinata moved forward slowly. He came to stand next to the boy and…wait…was he actually…

"You're shorter than me!"

Yes. Apparently he was.

Huh.

The boy reacted instantly. "Huh?! What did you just say?"

 _This guy is louder than Tanaka._

"I-I'm sorry!" Hinata stuttered and Tobio felt his lips twitching. It was always funny to see someone other than him yelling at Hinata. "Uh, how tall are you?"

"I'm 159 cm!"

 _Wow. So he is shorter than Hinata._

"It's the first time I've looked down on someone since I started high school activities!" Hinata exclaimed and Tobio shook his head at the idiot.

"Don't weep with joy about it!" The boy snarled. "You're not looking down that far!"

It was at that moment that Tanaka, Daichi, and Suga walked into the gym. Tanaka yelled out the moment he saw the boy and Tobio knew that he had to be correct. This was the boy Daichi had been talking about. The Protector of Karasuno. The libero.

"This is Nishinoya, second year," Daichi introduced the boy.

"Hi! You guys are first years, huh?" Tobio blinked. The boy was all smiles now. "You, the guy that was serving! The tall guy with the nasty glare!"

 _Excuse me?_

"What junior high are you from?!" he questioned loudly, his finger almost hitting Tobio in the face as he pointed toward him.

"Kitagawa Daiichi."

"Seriously?! That's a power school! No wonder you serve like that. We played against you guys and lost 2 to 1!"

 _2 to 1? They won a set against us?_

"Your serve was amazing then too!" Wow, this guy could talk.

Tobio stared at him, still confused about the previous comment. He didn't remember this guy. "What school were you from, Nishinoya-san?"

"Chidoriyama!"

Tobio blinked in surprise. What the hell was this guy doing at Karasuno? "That's a power school. Why did you come to Karasuno! Because you heard that Coach Ukai was coming back?" Was this guy like him?

"No. I came to Karasuno because…because I like the girls uniforms."

 _…what…_

"And the girls have lived up to my expectations!" He continued happily. "And above all, because of the boys uniform. In black! I wore a blazer in junior high, so I admired this uniform! It's not brown or grey, but black!" Tobio didn't think he was even talking to him anymore. He seemed to be focused on Tanaka.

"I know what you mean!"

"Karasuno has black uniforms, and the girls uniform is cute. The school's close to home. It was a no brainer!" Nishinoya proclaimed proudly. The second years head snapped to the side when the door slid open. Tobio blinked in surprise as the libero took off running toward their manager, yelling all the while about how excited he was to see her. She responded by slapping him across the face.

Tobio's entire body tensed at the sound. A familiar sound. A sound that brought forth memories of pain and furious words. He stared as Nishinoya walked toward them, a bright red hand print on his cheek. But the boy was smiling. Why would he be smiling?

"Where is Asahi-san? Did he come back?"

There was silence throughout the gym and Tobio turned his eyes forcefully away from the red mark toward his senpais. Who was Asahi-san?

Suga wasn't meeting anyone's eyes and Daichi was shaking his head. Was it someone on the team? Had they quit? Or were they suspended like Nishinoya? Tobio watched as a yelling match began between Nishinoya and Tanaka. Apparently, Nishinoya was extremely upset that this Asahi didn't return to the club. And Tanaka was yelling at his…friend?...for the way he was talking about this person.

Tobio was confused.

If he wasn't here, why did it matter?

He then watched as Nishinoya left the gym, refusing to join the club if this Asahi person wasn't a part of it.

Which made him even more confused. Nishinoya obviously liked volleyball. How could he just give it up because of one person?

Hinata hurried after the boy and Tobio let out a deep sigh. Great. They needed a libero if they wanted to make it to Nationals. If this Nishinoya was going to drop out of the club, they needed to find someone else.

And he didn't know who that person could be.

Hinata returned about thirty minutes later with Nishinoya in tow. Apparently the other boy was still refusing to join the club, but he had agreed to help Hinata with his receiving. Tobio didn't dare step in – Hinata needed all the help he could get.

"So essentially," Nishinoya told the first year, "you go zip, then whoop, and pow. Like that."

Tobio turned toward Hinata to make sure he was paying attention only to see Hinata's head tilted in a way that showed his confusion. And he wasn't the only one. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had the same looks. Hell, even Tanaka was staring at his friend like he was talking another language. Tobio frowned in confusion. Why did they all look like that? It seemed simple enough to him.

"It's no good," Tanaka commented from his place beside Tobio. "He can't explain it because he move purely on instinct."

"Really?" Tobio responded, "I understood what he was saying."

"Because you do the same thing!" Tanaka snapped in annoyance. "When you explain something all you say is 'pow' and 'whoa' and stuff. Nobody else understands you."

Tobio felt his mouth drop open. Oh. Was that the problem? They didn't understand him?

Was that his problem back in junior high? Did they not know what he was saying?

Nishinoya turned his attention to the rest of the first years and his eyes instantly narrowed in on Tsukishima. "You, I've noticed your height," he said, pointing at Tsukishima's head. "How tall are you?"

Yamaguchi jumped in instantly, "Tsukki is-"

"Shut up, Yamaguchi."

"Sorry, Tsukki."

Tobio rolled his eyes and wandered away from the rest of the first years. He didn't need to work on his receives, anyway. Not as much as they did, anyway. Anything he needed to learn, he could do on his own. Or with videos.

But he didn't get far before he was pulled back by Hinata. "We should ask him who that person they were arguing about earlier is," the boy whispered as Nishinoya continued to irritate Tsukishima.

"If you want to know, you ask," Tobio responded just as quietly. He didn't want to ask. It seemed like Nishinoya and Hinata had hit an understanding of sorts anyway.

Hinata frowned but waited until Nishinoya finally stopped commenting on Tsukishima's height before asking. "Earlier you were talking about Asahi-san. Who is he?"

 _Well, you probably could have brought that up another way._

"Don't say that name carelessly!" Tanaka snapped from where he had been standing across the gym.

Nishinoya's happy expression instantly faded. "He's Karasuno's ace, for what it's worth," the boy responded.

"Ace?"

 _We have an ace? Where the hell is he?!_

"What's with that empty headed look?" Nishinoya questioned Hinata.

"I…want to be the ace."

"Ace? With your height?" Tobio saw Hinata's shoulders drop and he wondered if he should step in. But Nishinoya clapped a hand on the redheads shoulder and smiled brightly. "I like you. You want it because it's awesome, right? Good, good. Do it! Become the ace. You'd be far more impressive than our current ace."

 _Well, that doesn't sound promising._

"But then again, it's the ace that inspires you," Nishinoya continued and Tobio vaguely wondered if this guy ever stopped talking.

"Aces are awesome!"

Tobio felt his eyes narrow as one of the two idiots made a comment about setters being boring. Suga was by his side instantly, trying to calm him. Nishinoya only rose slightly in his mind when he told Hinata that it was great to be the decoy.

At least he wasn't completely filling Hinata's head with crap.

The only real thing that Tobio took away from practice that day was that the team would have a great libero – if they could get him to play. And the only way they were going to get him to play was by getting the teams ace to rejoin the team. So, he would do what needed to be done.

He was a little surprised that Hinata had the same idea. It was for different reasons but what the hell? If Hinata wanted to come with him to meet this Asahi person then Tobio would let him. He was more personable than Tobio anyway.

However, even Hinata didn't seem to be able to change the third years mind. Suga explained to the two that he thought Asahi had lost his love for the game. Tobio didn't think that was possible. But he wasn't going to waste his time trying to talk someone into playing if they didn't want to play. Better they find someone that wanted to work hard and help them win. They needed an ace. So they needed to find one.

Tobio watched his teammates during practice. Tanaka was the best bet for the ace position. He had a lot to learn and he needed a bit more experience, but he was the only one that could possibly fill the role. He was still wondering how he should bring the topic up when Takeda ran into the gym. "Good job, everyone!" the man said. Apparently he was getting in better shape. He wasn't panting from the run anymore. "I want you to listen up!"

Tobio moved to face the teacher, as did the rest of the team. He wondered what this was about.

If it was another practice match with Aoba Joshai he was going to be really upset.

"We're doing it again this year, aren't we?" He questioned Daichi. "The Golden Week training camp?"

Daichi confirmed, "Yes. We still need a lot of practice."

 _Well, I can't argue with that._

"One more thing," Takeda said with a bright smile. "for the last day of Golden Week…I've arranged a practice match!"

Tobio felt is entire body tense as the rest of the team yelled out happily. It wouldn't be them, right? He didn't think that they would set up another match so soon. But, well, he never knew the way Oikawa's mind worked.

"Awesome! Very impressive!" Tanaka yelled out happily.

"Who's our opponent?" Suga asked.

"A venerated school in Tokyo. Nekoma High School."

Oh. Well, okay then. Maybe he could be a little excited.

"They call themselves Neko," Takeda continued.

"We've heard a lot about them," Tanaka told the first years. "Our former coach and theirs were rivals. We played each other often."

"That's right," Suga confirmed. "Those famous matches were called 'Cat vs Crow: Battle at the Garbage Dump'."

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, "You sure those matches were famous?"

"They've refused us for a while," Daichi commented, "Why now?"

"I'll tell you the details later," Takeda responded, "But after I heard about that rival school, I had to arrange for a rematch of destiny."

Tobio let out a deep sigh. They weren't ready for another practice match. They needed the practice, that was sure, but until they had a libero and an ace…it was all pointless.

But the news seemed to rev everyone up and they began to practice just as hard as they had before their match against Oikawa. Thinking about Oikawa made him think of Iwaizumi. What had the other boy been staring at him for? Was he right that he was…taking notes on him for Oikawa? But then why did he keep watching him after Oikawa arrived? Was there another reason? Did he know that Tobio had been offered a spot at their school? Was he upset with him for something? Did it have something to do with Kindaichi or Kunimi?

Or about his last year in junior high?

Was he just as upset with Tobio as Oikawa was?

Somehow, Tobio found himself being pulled to the third year hallway once again the next day. Hinata was convinced he could get Asahi to join the team. Tobio wasn't so sure.

He was surprised that night at practice. Apparently they now had a coach. And a practice game with a bunch of old guys from the neighborhood.

Whatever. They would still win. No matter who their opponent was.

He had to eat his own words a few hours later.

Not only had Nishinoya joined in on the game, so had Asahi. And the "old guys" were in their mid twenties and completely wiped the floor with them. Which just proves that they had a lot of work to do.

The next few weeks flew by and Tobio suddenly found himself at the training camp. He briefly wondered if his mother would stop by the house that week. He had left a note on the table letting her know where he was but he didn't think she would really care. He was more worried that she would come to drop off his money and then leave with it when she knew he wasn't there. He needed a new pair of shoes for volleyball and he had been saving what little he had left over each week. With being at camp and most of his food provided, he should be able to save all of his weekly allowance this time.

And then it was time for the game against Nekoma. Tobio was fascinated with their setter. He was smart, so smart. Smart enough that he might actually be able to out strategize Oikawa. He wasn't anywhere close to Oikawa's playing style but…

There was a lot Tobio could learn from the second year setter.

Too bad when he tried to talk to him the other boy ran away.

They lost every game they played against Nekoma and it just confirmed what Tobio already thought. They weren't ready. But now he wasn't the only one that was aware of that.

The practices intensified after the Nekoma match. And Tobio was glad of it. They needed to win. His wasn't the only team that had been practicing harder than before. His soulmates seemed to be doing the same, judging by the multitude of bruises and the writings that decorated his body. It seemed that the one with the pretty writing had a habit of overworking himself. The other was always reprimanding him for it. But Tobio understood. He wanted to be the best and to be the best, they had to practice.

Then, finally, it was time for the Inter-High. Tobio knew that they could make it. They had the talent. They had worked hard to perfect their plays. They could do it.

He was standing in the gym beside Hinata when his head suddenly exploded in pain. He fell forward, head in his hands, as his teammates began to crowd around him. "Kageyama? Are you okay?"

"-what's happening?"

"Is he alright?"

"Kagyema-"

The pain disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared and Tobio slowly rotated his head. "Kageyama? Are you okay?"

"Fine," Tobio muttered as he pushed himself to his feet.

 _What the hell was that? It felt like that time Hinata served into the back of my head!_

The lingering ache had just disappeared when Hinata exclaimed, "Hey, it's turnip head!"

Tobio's neck turned so fast he was afraid he might have damaged something. Hinata was right. Aoba Johsai were walking into the stands. Tobio blinked in surprise as Kunimi seemed to chuckle at Hinata's words and Kindaichi seemed confused. But Tobio's attention was quickly taken by something else.

"Yoohoo!" _Shit._ Tobio turned just slightly and flinched when he saw Oikawa leaning over the railing, the smile and peace sign being directed at him. Fantastic. He swallowed when he saw Iwaizumi's gaze also fixated on him from where he stood behind Oikawa. "Tobio-chan! Chibi-chan! How's the freak duo doing?"

 _Why does everyone call us that?_

Hinata said something but Tobio didn't hear it as his head once again rocked with pain. He winced and let his head fall into his hands as he dropped the volleyball he was holding. _What the hell are they doing?!_

"Kageyama? Are you okay? Are you sick?! You can't be sick!" Hinata called frantically but Tobio merely shook his head and tried to once again push the pain aside and focus. Oikawa had moved to take a seat a little ways away from the rest of his team but Iwaizumi was still standing by the railing, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Tobio. "Come on!" Hinata said loudly, gripping Tobio's jersey and pulling him toward Coach. "We have to go! Forget about the Great King!"

 _It isn't the Great King that's worrying me._

The first game went fairly quickly and easily enough that Tobio wasn't worried. But he could feel the weight of Oikawa's eyes on him the entire time. He just knew every play he made, every time he served, the older boys eyes were fixated on him. Judging him.

He didn't like it.

Not to mention that every time he glanced at the stands, Iwaizumi was staring at him as well. On more than one occasion he actually found himself forgetting what he was doing as he stared back at the two boys. Luckily for him, no one on their team seemed to notice. It was just luck that he was still able to move his team forward.

It was also luck that they had a game at the same time as Karasuno played Date Tech. Yes, they were playing on the court beside the one Tobio was playing on, but he found it easier to concentrate when he knew the other two boys were focusing on their own game – even if there had been a few occasions where he slipped. And a couple of occasions where he saw one of the two watching him. But the longer he played, the more focused he was on his own game. They had to win this. Had to make it through.

And they did.

Aoba Johsai was still playing after Karasuno and Tobio found himself ushered into the stands to watch the match. Whoever won would be there opponent, after all.

Though he didn't think any member of their team thought it would be someone other than Aoba Johsai.

Now that Tobio found himself free to do so, he focused on the game intently. Oikawa was just as great of a setter as he ever was. Iwazumi was even more impressive than he had been during the practice match. It wasn't surprising, considering how long he and Oikawa had been playing together, but Tobio was still impressed.

And nervous.

Very, very nervous.

He stared at Oikawa intensely as the other boy served. No matter how many times he saw it, it still amazed him. He had worked on his own jump serve for years now but he could never match the power or accuracy of the third year.

"How do I put this…" Suga started from where he sat beside Tobio. "They have a very smooth transition."

"Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san, the #4 on the left, apparently have been on the same team since grade school," Tobio answered the unspoken question. "They're linked in that way. They're also soulmates."

"They are?" Suga questioned, surprised eyes turning back toward the floor. "Oh, well, I guess that makes things a bit more difficult."

Tobio nodded. He wasn't sure what stage Oikawa and Iwaizumi were on in their relationship but the two knew each other so well he wouldn't be surprised if they were able to read one anothers emotions. It made for a very interesting combination when they were on the court.

"The Great King is so awesome!" Hinata yelled out. "I want to hurry up and play him!"

"Yeah!" Noya joined in just as loudly. "I hope he aims his serves at me!"

 _Why would anyone wish that?_

"Noya-san is awesome, too!"

"Look, Shoyou!" Noya yelled as he leaned over the railing and pointed to something on the court. "A TV crew is here!"

"TV? Awesome! I want to be on TV too!"

The next moment boy Noya and Hinata were reprimanded for being loud. Tobio smirked as the man referred to them as grade school kids. Well, they were certainly short enough.

Aoba Johsai won the set and Tobio found himself focusing once more on Oikawa. The way he spoke with the team – the way they all treated him – he wondered if he would ever be able to be like that. If he would ever have the respect of his team the way Oikawa had it. The longer he watched, the more inferior he felt.

Tobio laid on his bed that night, tossing a volleyball into the air. Tomorrow they would be playing Aoba Johsai in an official match. He would be playing against Kindaich and Kunimi, two people that had been his teammates for three years. Against Iwaizumi, the one senior that had looked out for him. Against Oikawa. The one he had respected and strived to be like.

Tomorrow, they would finally see who was better.

He let out a deep sigh and let the volleyball roll off of the bed and onto the floor. When he did, he saw words slowly appear on his hand. That was odd. They usually made sure to write on their arms. Tobio figured it was so no one else would see the communication. It had always been a blessing to him when his mother was around.

But, he guessed that didn't matter anymore.

 **Good luck tomorrow.**

 _Eh? We don't need luck!_

 **Who said I was talking to you?**

 _EH?!_


	5. Chapter 5

Tobio didn't know what was happening. Had he done something that alerted one of them that he was alive? He couldn't really think of anything out of the ordinary. Nothing more than the usual things that had happened for years, anyway.

He didn't know what to say. Should he say anything? Had it just been a guess? Had one of them just…suspected something and decided to see if anyone responded? Had it not meant anything at all? Had he just written that last sentence to tease the other boy?

That had to be it.

There wasn't… they couldn't know he was there.

Anyway, he couldn't think about that right now.

They had a game to win.

Tobio watched as Daichi moved forward to shake hands with Oikawa. This was it. He was finally going to play a real game with his former senpai. With the person he had made it his goal to be like. The person he had deemed to be the best in his division. The person he had wanted to learn from.

He was a horrible person but no one could doubt he was good at volleyball.

"Kageyama!" Tobio turned quickly with wide eyes. He knew that voice. Iwaizumi was standing just on the other side of the net and was motioning for him to come over. He even had a smile on his face. "Good luck."

 _Huh?_

"…good luck to you as well, Iwaizumi-san," Tobio finally replied, bowing slightly before he took a few steps closer. He saw Iwaizumi's smile widen as he did so.

Tobio was really confused.

"Oikawa-kun! Do your best!" A group of girls screamed from the stands. Tobio turned toward them, brows furrowed, as members of his team (namely Noya, Tanaka, and Hinata) began to shout in jealousy. Why were they screaming like that? Didn't they know Oikawa and Iwaizumi were soulmates? Didn't that mean they should leave them alone?

He turned back around as Iwaizumi let out a loud scoff. "I'll never understand it," he said as Tobio turned back toward him. Oh. At least he wasn't the only one. "They know Oikawa and I are…well, I don't know why they follow him around all the time. If he wasn't my soulmate, I'd stay as far away as possible."

Tobio brought his hand up quickly to cover his laugh. Iwaizumi's lips twitched at the sight before he turned his head at the loud "Iwa-chan!" that cut off the conversation. Oikawa's lips were pulled back in a snarl as he saw his soulmate standing there talking to Tobio. Tobio couldn't turn his eyes away from his former senpai. Why did Oikawa always look so angry when he was around? What did he do to make the other boy hate him so much?

Iwaizumi sighed loudly and Tobio finally managed to tear his eyes away from the setter stomping toward them. "Let's have a good game, Kageyama. Don't let Oikawa get to you."

Tobio nodded once to show he understood before he hurried over toward his team. He didn't want to have a confrontation with Oikawa this soon. Especially not if it was because the older boy was upset with him for talking to Iwaizumi. He didn't want to deal with that.

Karasuno quickly completed their warm ups and then Oikawa and his team moved forward. Tobio stood on the sidelines and watched in interest as Oikawa set for each member of his team and then seemed to give them some sort of commentary. Most of the team seemed pleased with whatever Oikawa said. However, Iwaizumi seemed to be upset. Well, more than upset. Kindaichi was holding the older spiker back from attacking Oikawa.

 _I wonder what Iwaizumi-san would do if he managed to get away from Kindaichi. Would he actually attack Oikawa-san?_

Tobio shivered at the thought and wrapped his arms around his sides. He liked Iwaizumi. He had always been nice to him. He had stopped Oikawa back in junior high. But Tobio's mom had always been nice too. Until he made her angry.

Hinata's hand came to wrap around Tobio's wrist and Tobio realized that the rest of the team, as well as Aoba Johsai, had begun to line up. Tobio shook Hinata's hand off and hurried to his place. He let his eyes wander over the opposing team, swallowing hard when he saw both Kunimi and Kindaichi staring back at him. He moved on quickly, meeting Iwaizumi's eyes next. The ace quirked up his lips and Tobio wondered for probably the millionth time why the older boy seemed to be so interested in him. Finally, Tobio looked to the very side. Oikawa. This was it.

 _I'm going against him in an official match for the first time. I can do this._

The two teams separated and moved toward their coaches only moments later. "Hey, Tobio-chan!" Tobio turned on instinct. Oikawa was staring at him, a smirk on his face and his hands on his hips. "I came here excited to take down a genius setter, so do your best and hold on."

 _I have no idea what he means by that._

But he needed to respond. If he didn't, Oikawa would take that as a win. He couldn't let him win. "We will win-"

"We won't lose!" A loud, familiar yell cut in. Tobio wasn't surprised to see a certain redhead jump in front of him, blocking his view of Oikawa with his gravity defying hair.

"Don't butt in when I'm talking, Hinata, you jackass!" Tobio yelled. This wasn't Hinata's problem. This was Oikawa. This was up to Tobio. He moved forward to swat at the other boys head, knowing full well that Hinata would move out of the way before he could touch him. "We won't lose this time either!" Tobio said loudly when Oikawa was once again visible.

"We'll see," Oikawa declared before turning on his heel and moving toward the rest of his teammates. Tobio watched as the older boy came to stand beside Iwaizumi, their arms pressed together as Iwaizumi said something to Oikawa before glancing over his shoulder toward Tobio. He smiled once more and Tobio turned away quickly.

Iwaizumi had never smiled at him like that. That was the smile that he reserved for those close to him. Tobio shouldn't be seeing that smile directed at him.

Hinata was once again wrapping his hand around Tobio's wrist and pulling him forward. "Come on!" He said loudly, "Stop staring at the Great King!"

Tobio felt himself flush as his teammates started to laugh. Ukai cleared his throat pointedly and the laughter slowly tapered off until all that was left was small smiles and serious eyes. Takeda began to speak and Tobio was sure it was something inspiring. He didn't understand it but the others seemed to be interested.

The game started with Tsukishima's serve. Kunimi received it cleanly and Tobio watched as the ball soared toward Oikawa.

 _It's been a while since I've seen Oikawa-san's set up close. Who will he send it to? Iwaizumi-san?_

But he didn't. Instead, Oikawa moved from a set position and spiked the ball himself. Tobio stared in shock as the ball hit the floor. _A setter dump?!_

He looked up at the face across from him only to see Oikawa smirking back. "I'll be doing the same thing again," Oikawa said lightly as he turned his back on them. "Don't stand there so out of it. Pay attention."

Tobio glared as Oikawa stopped and spoke to Iwaizumi. He vaguely heard Hinata making some commotion beside him, Tanaka also chiming in, but he continued to stare at the interaction between Iwaizumi and Oikawa. They seemed to be so…comfortable together.

He wondered if he and his soulmates would be like that.

"Kageyama! Snap out of it!" Daichi said from behind him. "We'll get the point back!"

Tobio scowled at the reminder of the setter dump. Oikawa was going to pay for that.

He set the ball for Hinata only for it to get picked up. Oikawa jumped in an obvious position to spike…no, that wasn't right. Oikawa wouldn't be that obvious. He would…

Tobio jumped but it was too late. The ball had already been set to Iwaizumi and the ace had already sent it over the net. Tobio scowled once again as he landed. Iwaizumi just shrugged at him from across the net before turning to look at Oikawa. "That was a little low," Tobio heard him tell the other boy.

 _Huh? No it wasn't…_

"Really?" Oikawa asked. Tobio could tell by the tone of his voice that he was just as surprised as Tobio. "Sorry about that. But, Iwa-chan, you usually hit it regardless."

"We'll get the next one!" Daichi encouraged him before walking over toward Hinata and Tanaka. Tobio felt himself flush as his captain told the two that their setter was just as skilled and flashy as Oikawa.

 _I wouldn't say flashy…_

But the words certainly made Tobio feel better to know his team trusted in him.

Which is why he felt it a good time to do his own setter dump.

He met Oikawa's eyes as he landed back on his feet. He was staring at him with his lips twisted up. Not a grin. No, that was the look he reserved fully for Tobio. A look of amusement, mixed with annoyance and loathing.

Tobio turned and was instantly met by Hinata. "That was awesome!" The smaller boy crowed. "You're not losing against the Great King, Kageyama!"

Tobio turned slightly so he could watch Oikawa as he answered Hinata. "Even if he's the best overall player in the prefecture, I won't lose to him as a setter!"

"But aren't you serving next?" Hinata asked. "You're on the back line, right? You said you'd do the same thing again. Isn't a dump from the back line illegal?"

 _Of course Hinata would be the one to point that out!_ Tobio felt his face flush at the words. "Shut up!" he snapped as he hurried past the other boy. He made sure not to look toward the other side of the net. Who knows what Oikawa was doing. Or Iwaizumi. Kunimi and Kindaichi were probably laughing at him. "I meant when I get back up to the front line!"

Tobio moved to serve and as soon as he hit the ball he knew what was going to happen. The ball sailed across the net, over the heads of the players, and into the wall. He hunched his shoulders forward as Oikawa began to giggle and even Iwaizumi looked amused. "I'm sorry!" He called out to his team in embarrassment.

Oikawa was up next to serve and Tobio just knew the other boy was thinking about his failed attempt. Hell, he was probably making some snide comment that would piss Tobio off if he heard it. It was a good thing he couldn't hear anything. Oikawa served and Tobio's eyes narrowed as the ball flew straight toward Noya. What was Oikawa playing at?

Noya received the serve cleanly and Tobio moved into the correct position as the ball came toward him. He knew that they were marking Hinata. He needed to distract them. His mind flashed to an image of the Nekoma setter and the way he purposely looked the wrong way. Would that work?

He sent a quick look toward his left and then set the ball right. It seemed to work as at least one of the blockers delayed their jump and Hinata scored.

The game was paused momentarily as Oikawa bent down to tie his shoe. Tobio felt his body tense. He saw Oikawa's lips moving. He saw the way Kindaichi's entire body tensed. He was well aware how Oikawa could get into someone's head. Just what was he saying to Kindaichi?

He didn't get an answer but he knew his suspicious were correct when Kindaichi called for the next ball and sent a spike straight over Hinata's head.

 _He jumped higher. Moved faster. What did Oikawa-san do?_

Karasuno scored the next point and Tobio was cheering with his team when he felt a chill run up his spine. He turned around quickly, his eyes instantly flying toward Oikawa. Said boy had a smug smile and knowing eyes.

 _He figured it out._

Aoba Johsai called for a time out and Tobio hurried over to his own team. They had more signals prepared but did they really need to use them yet? Did Oikawa really know what they were or was it just a guess? Should he mention it or not?

"Could it be that they've already figured it out?" Suga asked as he handed Tobio a water bottle.

 _He noticed it too._ "Damn it, that was fast."

"Well, let's see what happens and go from there," Suga said softly as he moved off toward Daichi.

Is that what they should do? If Oikawa did figure it out they weren't going to be able to use Hinata effectively. And the other spikers would be thrown as well. Should they really wait?

"Hey! What's with the serious face?" Noya asked as he and Tanaka came up beside him. "That's not like you!"

"Nah, Noya. That's actually how he always looks," Tanaka teased. "He has the same face when he's trying to decide between milk or a yogurt drink."

Hey! That wasn't an easy decision! "That – that has nothing to do with anything!"

"But, Noya-san, I'm amazed that you were able to return that serve," Tanaka continued over Tobio's sputtering.

"I received that serve once when I was in junior high," Noya informed him. "It was always an amazing serve, if he could actually get it in, but he missed it a lot and it didn't have much control. I'm sure he practiced a lot. Just because they have one guy who can serve really well and their setter is an all around player, I don't think those are the only reasons they've stayed in the top four for so long. If we let our guard down, they'll take this game. Let's give it our all!"

With that rousing speak from Noya, the break was over and Tobio moved back toward the court. The game continued with Aoba Johsai serving the ball toward Asahi in the same moment Tobio tried to move forward from the back line. They scored a few points off of the move and Tobio began to grow more and more frustrated. They finally got the ball up and scored.

The next play had two blockers on either side of Tobio. He felt his chest clench when he realized who they were. Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Both standing there. Both judging him. It felt like they were on either side of him, boring down on him. _Damn it. This pressure is incredible. They're now four points ahead of us and we have two blockers on the front row without Hinata. We have to hurry up the rotation._

He decided to test his luck. He tried a setter dump once more but it was quickly blocked by Oikawa. _Damn it!_

"There's nothing easier to stop than a dump when you're panicked," Oikawa taunted and Tobio felt his scowl increase. Trust Oikawa to make him feel even worse.

He tried to calm himself down. He really did. But the next time Hinata called for a toss Kindaichi was there to block him.

 _Have they realized it?_

He took a deep breath and moved back to serve. It was fine. They had a backup plan. He just needed to score with his serves and then worry about the rest of it later. _I'm not going to miss this time._

He tossed up the ball and jumped forward. _Damn! It's too far!_ He managed to hit it and tensed, only letting his body calm when he saw that it actually went over the net. Oikawa sent it back and Tobio inwardly cursed as he was forced to receive the ball. Now he couldn't toss. Daichi took over and sent it toward Tanaka but the spike was quickly blocked.

Oikawa was next to serve and he quickly scored a point. Tobio was scowling as Karasuno called a time out. It was obvious that Oikawa was having his team target Tanaka. And Tanaka was close to breaking. They couldn't let that happen. But Tobio didn't know how to stop it.

He didn't know what to do. Tanaka was getting blocked at every turn and they were getting the ball around him. And then Tanaka didn't call for a toss. Tobio clenched his jaw. Damn. They needed to fix this.

But Tanaka seemed to know that himself. He apologized on their next break and quickly got back into the game, even managing to stop Oikawa's streak. The game continued with Aoba Johsai having a large lead. Tobio felt like he was drowning. It was bad enough to lose to his former senpai. But to lose by such a big margin…

…that couldn't happen.

 _We have to lessen the lead somehow._

But how?

He didn't know. But the gap continued to grow.

 _Something. I have to do something._

The ball moved toward the net. "Push it, Kageyama!"

Tobio jumped, his hands coming to rest on the ball. He needed to push it over. But someone else was there as well.

Oikawa.

And then the ball was falling.

On Tobio's side.

Tobio fell to the ground, his feet slipping out from under him and his backside slamming onto the hard floor. He winced and looked up, expecting to see Oikawa smirking down at him. But he wasn't. No, he was staring down at Tobio with wide eyes. His mouth opened and closed soundlessly like he couldn't figure out what to say.

Tobio scowled and got off the floor. He didn't know why Oikawa was looking at him like that but he didn't have time for it. He didn't have time to listen to Oikawa's criticism.

He had a game to win.

 _I'm not going to lose. I'm not going to lose! I'm going to win and remain on the court!_

He tossed the ball and stared in horror as if flew over Tsukishima.

Hinata wasn't there.

Tsukishima was.

He set for the wrong person.

Asahi managed to save the ball and it flew over to Aoba Johsai. Not that it mattered. The other team got the point.

He had tossed for the wrong person.

He heard a whistle and turned his head to the side.

And froze.

Suga was standing there.

Holding a #9.

Tobio was being taken out of the game.

Oikawa was still playing.

Tobio wasn't.

He had lost.


	6. Chapter 6

Tobio was having trouble breathing.

He moved toward Suga quickly, carefully not looking toward the other side of the net. They were watching him. Oikawa. Iwaizumi. Kindaichi. Kunimi.

They were watching as he was taken from the game.

The same way he was back then.

Kindaichi turning his back.

Kunimi staring at him impassively.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa watching him as he sat on the bench.

The towel over his face as the tears fell from his eyes.

Oikawa waiting for him after the game.

The wall at his back.

The hands burning through his clothes.

 _"You might be a great setter, Tobio-chan. But if you continue down this path you will never amount to anything. Remember that."_

He took the paddle from Suga and went to walk toward the sidelines – when someone slapped their hand on his shoulder. He flinched.

 _"…great setter…. never amount to anything…"_

But it wasn't Oikawa.

It was Suga.

Please no.

Not again.

"Don't get depressed," Suga said lowly, "we're just changing up the rhythm for a bit."

 _Because they can't trust me. Because I'm nothing compared to Oikawa-san._ "I'm sorry."

Tobio moved toward Coach Ukai as Suga hurried onto the court. He had just stopped in front of Ukai when he was met by someone else. "I said I'd be the one that defeats you!" Hinata yelled. Tobio blinked. What was the idiot going on about now? "So don't lose to anyone before that!"

 _This idiot._

But the rocks that had been sitting on his chest, crushing him, suffocating him, began to lighten as he stared down at the other boy. He hadn't lost. Not yet. Just because he was out of the game didn't mean that Karasuno had lost. It wasn't a team of one.

He was part of a team.

His team was still playing.

He hadn't lost yet.

Tobio let his face twist into the familiar scowl he always seemed to wear when talking to Hinata. "The match isn't over yet," he finally answered, "I haven't lost yet."

Then Yamaguchi appeared and pulled Hinata away. Tobio quirked his head to the side as the taller boy muttered something about Hinata going to get himself into trouble. "Kageyama," Ukai spoke, making Tobio turn away from the odd sight. "Make sure you take stock of things from outside the court. Use that time to calm down. Watch how your senpai plays."

Tobio nodded his head and hurried over toward the other players standing on the side of the court. He turned around just in time to see Suga smack almost every single player on their side of the net.

 _…what…_

 _Well, I can say that isn't something I ever saw Oikawa-san do._

But it seemed to work. Every member of the team suddenly seemed to pick up and the smiles that had faded were back on their faces. Smiles that had fallen when they were playing with Tobio.

Even Tsukishima looked happier.

Well, maybe.

It really was hard to tell.

Tobio felt eyes on him and he turned slightly to see Hinata's wide eyes fixated on him. "What?"

"Jeez, your face is scary!" Hinata complained.

Tobio's brow furrowed and he felt that familiar swell of anger build within his chest. "I was born with this face!"

Hinata sighed and turned away from him, "You were all irritated and stopped talking as much." And just like that, the anger was gone. He had…what? Had the panic he was feeling been that obvious? Had the other team been able to see it as well? "I could tell you were thinking and stuff, but if you don't say it out loud, I don't know what you're thinking."

He hadn't been talking? Really? "I wasn't saying it out loud?" Tobio questioned the redhead, just to be sure.

"Nope," Hinata confirmed. "You were quieter than in any other match."

Tobio was horrified. _Damn it! I was so overwhelmed I end up having to hear about it from him? How did I not notice? Did they all notice?_

 _Did I mess everything up so badly?_

The game picked back up and Tobio kept his eyes focused on Suga. It was…surprising. And amazing. He knew that Suga was talented. But he hadn't known…

Why was he the starter again?

He shouldn't be.

Suga was…good. Not great. Especially when compared to Oikawa on the other side of the net. But he knew his team. He was strategic. He was able to throw Aoba Johsai, and more importantly, Oikawa, off.

He had switched positions with Tsukishima right with Iwaizumi was getting ready to spike. He had known that they would aim for him and he countered it with Tsukishima's height.

He had told Hinata to delay his jumps and Hinata had managed to block #2.

He managed to get the team to rally for him.

That wasn't something Tobio was able to do.

Not yet anyway.

But one day, he would.

The points were slowly closing in but it wasn't enough.

Aoba Johsai was getting closer and closer to game point.

 _Damn it! Now it's Oikawa-san's serve._

And then they were at set point.

Oikawa served and Daichi received it. Tobio couldn't help but cheer as the ball went up into the air. And then Hinata and Tanaka were running forward. Tobio looked from one to the other, wondering what Suga had planned.

And the ball was set. For Asahi.

But Seijoh saved it. And it was coming back.

"Hinata! It's coming directly to you!" Tobio yelled at the small boy. Receives still weren't Hinata's strong point. He needed to hit it…

Hinata jumped and the ball barely grazed his fingers. "You suck!" Tobio yelled once more.

"Oh, shut up already!" The boy yelled back. Tobio smirked. Hinata always played a bit better when he was worked up. Especially if he was trying to prove Tobio wrong.

Iwaizumi saved Hinata's horrible "spike" and the ball was tossed by Oikawa. Kindaichi was blocked by Hinata.

 _Finally, our middle blocker seems to be doing his job._

But the ball flew to the back of the court and Tobio held his breath as he waited for the call.

Out.

Aoba Johsai took the set.

Tobio joined his team around Coach Ukai and couldn't help but clench his jaw as it was announced that they would start the new game with the current set.

Suga was starting the game.

Tobio was on the bench.

Tobio jerked as he felt both his head and his backside burst with pain at the same moment a loud yell was called out from down the court. He turned his head to find the source of the noise. For some reason, Oikawa was on the floor groaning and Iwaizumi was scowling down at him, his arms crossed over his chest. Tobio shook off both the odd feeling and the thoughts that were threatening to explode in his brain.

He had other things to do.

But…

No. That wasn't possible.

"Sugawara-san!" Tobio called as he made his way toward the older setter.

"Yeah?"

"Kindaichi…uh, Radish head's…" Tobio broke off. How the hell did Hinata's nicknames seem to take over his brain? "Could it be that #12's quick timing is a bit slow?" It was something he had noticed when he had been watching the game. He really was picking up on a few habits from both team's players as he stood there.

Not that he wanted to stay there, but yeah.

Maybe it wasn't always so bad.

Suga looked surprised, "I think it is! He looks, and looks…and then hits the ball, or something like that. Oh also, I just realized this when I came in the game, but our opponent will definitely aim for any holes that we have, so we can use that to our advantage."

 _Could that be why Kindaichi and I never worked well together? Because he pauses in his attacks and I always want them to be faster?_

 _Could it really be both our faults?_

"Kageyama?"

"Yes?"

"We…how do I say this?" Suga mused with his hands on his hips. "We seem to be in competition over the same position." Tobio felt himself freeze. He didn't want Suga to be upset with him. He didn't want it to happen again. "I want to be in a lot of matches, too!" The other boy declared.

"I-I do too, but-"

"But now that I'm on the court," Suga continued, his face relaxing into a smile. Tobio had no idea what was going on. Was the older boy angry with him or not? "The enemies are giants, and their spikes are directed right at me. Honestly, it scares me." Tobio felt his mouth drop open. Oh. "Before, I would have let it affect me, but now you've got my back. I feel really confident. The points we get when I'm on the court, and the points we get when you're on the court…all together, they're points for Karasuno. I'll fight my best and you'll fight your best. That's how we're going to defeat Seijoh!"

"Right!" Tobio agreed, his mind whirling. They were playing for the same team. They weren't fighting for the position. Not really. Not like…

Tobio's eyes flickered to the side and he saw that he was being watched. Iwaizumi was standing there, a little way away from his teammates, with a small smile on his face. Oikawa was beside him. Eyes narrowed. Arms crossed.

But he wasn't staring at Tobio.

He was looking at Suga.

…why was he looking at Suga?

"Kageyama-kun! Are you feeling a bit depressed?" Hinata yelled out.

"No, I'm not!" Tobio yelled back, embarrassment crawling through his body. Why did Hinata always do things like this to him? Especially when other people were close enough to hear him?

"What the heck?!" Hinata yelled out, "I was just feeling sorry for you since you were pulled out!"

"Just worry about yourself!" Tobio yelled back. "What was up with that sucky direct attack?"

A flush of red took over Hinata's cheeks. "Shut up! That was my first time!"

 _Such an idiot._ "As soon as I'm back in, I'll have you hitting one after another, so you'd better be prepared!"

Hinata smiled and a gleam overtook his eye. "Fine!"

"Fine!"

The next game started and Tobio was once again standing on the sidelines, eyes scanning over the players. For some reason, Oikawa was still glaring at Suga. Maybe he didn't like the fact that the third-year setter hadn't factored into his plans or something. That seemed like the type of thing he would be upset about.

"Sugawara-san gives you nice compliments when you get one in!" Hinata chirped happily from where he stood beside Tobio.

"I see…" Tobio muttered. He wasn't sure how he was feeling. He accepted that he and Suga were teammates. He accepted that, for the moment, Suga was the one that needed to be out there playing. But watching the way the team worked with Suga…made Tobio realize just how far he had to go to build a relationship with his team.

It was a little daunting.

"It's not like being overly buddy-buddy," Ennoshita explained as he walked closer toward them. "I think he says what he does based on the spiker's expressions and how they're doing that day."

 _He's like Oikawa-san. He knows each of the players inside and out. He knows what to say to them to make them work harder._

Tobio had never been able to do that before.

He wasn't sure he ever could.

"And unlike the second and third years," Ennoshita continued, "I'm sure for Tsukishima, there are a lot of things he doesn't know about Sugawara-san." A scowl crossed Tobio's face at mention of the blond. He really didn't like that salt stick. "" Why do I have to match what I do with how others are feeling, especially Tsukishima, that jerk?" That's what's written on your face."

Tobio flinched back at his thoughts being echoed out loud. "Th-that's not what I-"

Hinata laughed at his predicament and Tobio moved to grab onto the smaller boy. One of Hinata's hands wrapped around his own and the other moved to his wrist. Tobio didn't even look at Hinata as the two struggled against one another. "But Kageyama," Ennoshita started, not seeming to be bothered by his and Hinata's squabbling. "If Hinata seems to have a hard time hitting the ball, you switch things up, right?"

"Yes," Tobio confirmed, "because he misses easily."

He almost didn't notice as Hinata flinched at the words and Tobio was able to push more against the smaller boy. "I think that everyone else also has their own techniques and that affects how they hit the ball," Ennoshita told him. "I might sound biased, but I think our spikers are pretty skilled."

"I think that too, but-"

"Then, if they were all able to hit the ball with 100% of their ability, don't you think they'd be able to break through the block?"

 _…could they?_

The conversation broke off as loud screams took over the gym. Tobio turned his gaze back to the game and flinched when Hinata crowed in his ear. "It's the Great King's turn to serve!"

They had changed up the rotation to counter Oikawa's serves.

Now it was time to see if it worked.

It did.

They stopped Oikawa's serves before they even began.

Tobio's attention fixed on the older setter. He was irritated. That was dangerous. His eyes were shining vindictively. Those eyes flickered up and met Tobio's from across the court. Tobio flinched back instinctively. He hated it when Oikawa looked at him like that.

It made him uncomfortable.

And slightly nauseous.

He needed to get back on the court.

He could try to do as Ennoshita suggested. He could try to bring out the best in his team. Like Suga. Like Oikawa.

He was willing to try.

He wanted to be out there.

The feeling only grew as Aoba Johsai began to pull ahead in points. If they got too much of a lead, it would be almost impossible to catch up. Tobio didn't want them to win.

He wanted to play.

Tobio watched Suga play. He needed to learn all he could from the older setter while he still had the chance.

 _I always thought that if you were benched it meant that you weren't needed anymore. In junior high, I'm pretty sure that was completely accurate. The things that Sugawara-san and I can do are different. But our goal is the same._

 _I want to be in it._

 _I want to be in it._

 _I want to be in the game._

 _I want to fight._

Tobio's fists clenched as Hinata was blocked once more. He glanced at the bench only to see Ukai motioning to him. He hurried over and bowed his head as Ukai informed him he would be going back in the game.

Finally.

"It's a bit frustrating," Suga commented as came to step beside Tobio. "But Hinata's face when he hits my toss isn't the same as when he hits yours. I think you know this, but all of you guys are really strong."

"Yes."

Suga smiled and placed his hand on Tobio's shoulder, "Let's win this thing."

"Right!"

Tobio hurried over to his team that was waiting on the court. They were all watching him as he moved forward and an image of Suga flashed through his mind. That smile that seemed to calm them all down. He could try it.

"What are you thinking?" Hinata gasped as he moved backwards a few steps. "You won't get your way!"

 _…what?_

"Hinata, you're running too far away!" Tanaka yelled.

"I don't think that's a scheming face," Noya cut in, just as loud as Tanaka. "I think he's smiling…maybe…"

"Don't say maybe, Noya!" Asahi panicked.

Well. Okay, that didn't seem to work. And of course, Hinata had to completely end up staring at him in horror when Tobio was trying to be comforting. "Hinata, I'll kill you!"

He moved toward the back line, getting prepared to serve. Stupid Hinata. Stupid Tanaka. And Noya. He wasn't even going to look toward his old teammates across the net. There was no way they wouldn't have been able to hear that conversation. He could just picture the mocking looks painted across Kindaichi and Kunimi's face. He didn't even want to think about Iwaizumi or Oikawa.

They had been confusing enough during this game. He didn't need to add anything else to it.

"Did Sugawara-san tell you about the signs?" Hinata asked as the ball was tossed to Tobio.

"I heard in between sets," Tobio confirmed. "Let's get going!"

"Yeah!"

They all got into position and Tobio's lips twitched upwards as he looked down at the volleyball in his hands. He was back on the court. He was able to play again. He was back on the court.

He was going to win.

 _They_ were going to win.

"Kageyama-kun! Relax!"

 _Relax? Why do I need to relax?_

Tobio closed his eyes as he held the ball up in front of his face. This was it. He was going to do this. He was going to do a serve that rivaled Oikawa's.

A strange feeling of calm overtook him.

 _I feel good._

His eyes snapped open and the whistle blew. The ball flew up into the air and Tobio jumped.

The ball felt great against his hand and he watched as it flew over the net and toward the libero. The ball ricocheted off of the libero's arms into the far wall.

A service ace.

"Yes!" Tobio yelled out. He did it!

And then Tanaka was walking toward him with his hands up in the air. "Yeah!"

Tobio flinched away from the older boy. Why were his hands in the air? What had Tobio done? Was he angry at him?

But Tanaka stopped and just yelled, "Yeah!" once again.

"He's asking for a high five, you idiot!" Hinata cut in.

Oh. Right.

People did that.

Tobio moved forward hesitantly and slapped his palms against the older boys. He felt the sharp sting in his palms that quickly faded.

He didn't understand.

Why did people do this?

He served once more but this time Iwaizumi was there. The ball went up and the libero quickly covered it. _Of course I wouldn't be able to get it past Iwaizumi-san. He's been practicing with Oikawa-san for years._

Why did that make his throat feel tight?

But Aoba Johsai had to break formation to get the ball and soon enough it was flying back over the net. Tobio moved into position and an urge of satisfaction overtook him as the ball flew from his fingers and into Hinata's palm.

 _"Sugawara-san compliments me if I make it!"_

Tobio swallowed hard as he turned toward Hinata. Right. He could do this. "Hey, Hinata," Tobio started hesitantly. Hinata turned toward him in confusion. "Well done…" he muttered.

"Huh? Are you my boss?"

 _Idiot. Why do I even try?_

Tobio got to serve again. Iwaizumi was waiting and this time he received it cleanly. And then Aoba Johsai scored.

"Sorry!" Tobio apologized bitterly. "I should have hit it toward the side a bit." _And not right into Iwaizumi-san's arms._

"Don't worry about it!" Tanaka answered back. "They were good serves!"

"Thank you."

The game continued and Karasuno managed to keep their one-point lead. And then Tsukishima was back on the court and Tobio wondered how on earth he was supposed to be more in tune with the tall first year.

"You need to have a conversation," Suga told him during a time-out. "Talk. Especially with Tsukishima, communication is the key."

 _I'd really rather not…_

He didn't put the information to use until the next break. "Hey," he said, slipping up beside the tall blond. "How was the toss, damn it?"

"Why are you talking like Tanaka-san?" The blond responded and Tobio winced. Yeah, that didn't come out the way he had wanted it to.

Trust the blond to point it out.

"It's like you're saying "shut up and hit this toss, you commoner"." Tobio flinched at the reference. "It pisses me off."

"What?!" Tobio snapped. He really, really disliked this guy.

Suga seemed ready to cut in as he stepped between Tobio and the other first year. But Tobio didn't need his help. "What do you mean by that?"

Tsukishima's eyes narrowed. "I have my own way of doing things, so I'd rather you keep your tosses consistent. You're not the only one thinking. We're all thinking. Even Hinata has started thinking enough to use normal quicks, right? Though just barely."

"What'd you mean by that?!" Hinata yelled. "What do you mean by "just barely"?!"

But Tobio wasn't listening to Hinata. He was thinking about Tsukishima. He couldn't say the other boy was wrong. Tsukishima might not be the best player but he was certainly smart. Tobio needed to let go a bit. He could do that. "All right," he finally agreed.

There was a gasp of surprise from the group around them. "You're rather agreeable today," Tsukishima commented. "You feeling okay?"

"We're just going to have to try it and find out," Tobio responded. If it worked, fine. If it didn't, Tobio would go back to the tosses he had been sending the blond before. With that, the break was over and they moved back onto the court.

He sent such a toss toward the blond during the next play.

It worked.

Damn it.

They continued to play and Tobio fought to keep Karasuno ahead of the other school. So far, they had managed to stay ahead by one point but one point wasn't enough to win. They needed to do something to get a bigger lead.

It was Tsukishima that managed it.

He spiked through the blockers and earned the two-point lead. And set point.

"N-knife-nice," he managed to stutter, earning a shocked look from the blond.

"Don't hurt yourself, Kageyama!" Tanaka laughed.

Tobio blushed and focused his eyes on the other side of the court. They were watching him again. Why did Iwaizumi keep smiling at him? It was weird.

At least Oikawa wasn't glaring.

But he wasn't sure if that blank expression was any better.

The lead didn't last long as Iwaizumi sent a spike along the line.

 _Damn it! Now Oikawa-san is serving!_

Tobio was standing beside then net, waiting for the next serve, when Iwaizumi spoke. "The second opponent you want to show whose boss is right in front of you," the third year spoke. Tobio knew the words were directed at Oikawa but Iwaizumi's dark eyes were focused on him. He swallowed hard. He knew what the boy was talking about. He never forgot that. Never forgot Oikawa's declaration that he was going to crush him. The tears that had been streaming down Oikawa's face. The ones that were mirrored in Iwaizumi's eyes. "You can give it all you've got."

Tobio flinched.

Oikawa served but Noya received it, making Tobio breath out in relief. The ball flew back over the net and went straight toward Oikawa. Tobio knew what Tsukishima was thinking. He was thinking that Oikawa would set the ball to Kindaichi. To the center.

But Tobio knew Oikawa.

Tobio knew what he would do if he was in Oikawa's place.

Tobio quickly grabbed onto the back of Tsukishima's jersey to stop the boy from jumping. He tugged on the jersey and he and Tsukishima jumped toward Iwaizumi.

If Oikawa was going to trust anyone with this, it would be the ace of the team.

The person he had been on a team with his entire life.

His soulmate.

Iwaizumi spiked and the ball bounced off of Tobio's palm. And that was that.

They had won the second set.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Crap! I keep forgetting to update this here! Just so you guys know, if you go to archiveofourown and look at my profile (same username) I have this story finished, the sequel in progress, and many, many other stories that I forget to post here. Anyway, here's the next part!

One more.

They just needed one more.

If they lost, it was all over.

One more.

But Aoba Johsai was giving it their all. They were taking them as a serious threat.

Could they win against that?

Tobio had trouble tearing his eyes away from Oikawa. His sets, his jumps, his serves…all of them were amazing. Really amazing…

But Tobio was on the other team.

Oikawa was with Iwaizumi.

It was like they were running from him. Just when Tobio thought they were going to catch up, just when he thought _he_ was going to catch up, they were gone.

They left him.

The only thing he could do was use his teams greatest weapon.

He tossed to Hinata.

And the spike was blocked.

The ball slammed to the floor and Karasuno had lost before Hinata had even opened his eyes.

Tobio felt his body drop.

They lost.

He was kneeling on the ground, eyes burning. He could hear Aoba Johsai cheering. He knew if he looked he would see bright smiles plastered on all of their faces.

He didn't look.

He let himself be pulled from the ground. Let himself be led into line. Held out his hand for whoever was standing across from him. Didn't look. Couldn't look.

He ran past Oikawa. The older boys shoulder brushed his as they did so and Tobio's eyes instantly filled. His arm burned from where they had touched.

He wanted it to stop.

He felt eyes on him. He didn't look up to see who it was.

Why couldn't they leave him alone?

They bowed toward the crowd and Tobio could barely hear the clapping and words spoken through the roaring in his ears.

He wanted to go home.

"Seijoh will be going to the quarterfinals after a short break." It was the first words that Tobio had actually heard since that ball slammed to the floor. Tobio's eyes flickered to the side involuntarily. They were all smiling and laughing. Iwaizumi was holding up a clean jersey.

They were moving on.

Tobio wasn't.

He moved outside with the rest of his team and instantly went over to the fountain. He needed to cool off. He needed – to make sure no one could see the tears leaking from his eyes.

It wasn't until he was done that he stood and noticed that Hinata was the only one still there. The rest had already left for the after-game meeting. "Sorry," Tobio apologized. He wasn't sure what he was apologizing for. For taking so long? For losing? He didn't know.

But apparently Hinata had some ideas.

The smaller boy grabbed Tobio's collar and yelled at him for apologizing. Tobio took startled steps back, trying to get away from the other boy. But Hinata just followed him. Soon enough, Tobio was falling backwards. He hissed as his body slammed into the ground, Hinata kneeling in front of him, his shirt still in the redhead's grasp. Tobio was terrified. He had never seen Hinata this upset. Never seen him actually come after him in a way that wasn't in a teasing manner.

He didn't know what to do.

Takeda is the one that stepped in. Tobio couldn't deny the sense of relief he felt when he saw the teacher. "You were both amazing today."

"But we lost," Hinata muttered from his place beside Tobio. Tobio forced himself not to move away from the other boy. Hinata had just been upset. He wasn't going to actually hurt Tobio.

He didn't think.

"Yes, you lost," Takeda continued, "But does losing prove that you're weak? Isn't losing difficult for all of you? A challenge where, after ending up on your hands and knees, you must see if you can stand up again? If you stay on your hands and knees, that means you're weak."

Tobio's hands clenched. He was _not_ weak. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, noticing Hinata doing the same beside him. They moved forward to meet the rest of the team, Takeda smiling beside them.

Tobio didn't listen during the meeting. Most of the team didn't. At the end, they all decided to stop in the gym and see how Aoba Johsai's match was going. Apparently, it hadn't been as difficult as the match with Karasuno because they were already celebrating their second set win.

They were going to finals.

And getting even further away.

Tobio couldn't help but look at Iwaizumi and Oikawa. They had their arms around each other, both laughing and smiling.

They were happy.

Tobio turned away. It was time to go home.

But they didn't go home. Coach Ukai took them to get food. It was probably a good thing. Tobio had hoped that he would have a second game today. He hadn't prepared anything and he wasn't sure if there was even anything in the house for him to eat.

Not that he wanted to cook anyway.

He probably just would have gone to sleep.

They were all at the table, eating in complete silence. Every single person (except Tsukishima, but Tobio didn't consider him a _person_ ) had tears streaming down their faces.

Then, finally, they arrived back at the school.

And Tobio walked home.

Hinata was beside him for part of the way before he had to turn off. He waved lazily before turning away and ambling down the street. Tobio watched him go briefly. The boy lived on the other side of the mountain. He had to be tired. Should he ask him if he wanted to stay the night at Tobio's?

But they had class tomorrow.

It was probably best that he went home.

So Tobio didn't say anything and he slowly shuffled down the street until he finally reached his house. He unlocked the gate and moved toward the door. But then he froze.

Something was wrong.

The lights were on.

Why were the lights on?

Hesitantly, Tobio moved forward and turned the door knob. The door was unlocked.

Did he leave it unlocked?

He didn't think so.

Pushing the door open slowly, Tobio peaked through into the main room. Someone was sitting on the couch.

Oh.

Dread filled his stomach and his head instantly began to ache. Why was she here? Had something happened? How long had she been waiting for him?

Was she angry?

Tobio glanced down quickly, making sure his sports suit was zipped and that his sleeves were covering his arms. Nothing had been there earlier but he couldn't guarantee something hadn't been written within the last few hours.

She didn't need to know that he hadn't been following her "rules" when she was gone.

"Tobio," she said, standing slowly and letting her eyes trail over him. Her face was impassive. Her eyes were blank.

Tobio thought it was as if she was looking at a stranger.

"Where have you been?" she suddenly demanded, her face shifting into an irritated frown. "I've been waiting for you for hours. Don't tell me you've been practicing in that gym this late. You have other things to work on! Don't think I haven't seen your test grades!"

Tobio swallowed hard and looked at the floor. She didn't know. She had no idea. "We were in a tournament. The Inter-High-"

"Did you win?"

"We made it to-"

"So you didn't," she said, cutting him off with an irritated sigh. "Fine. It doesn't matter. I need to talk to you about something. Sit down."

Tobio guardedly moved forward, moving faster when his mother sighed once again. He perched on the couch, keeping his back straight and his shoulders tense. He had no idea what was happening. After all this time, what could be important enough for her to show up here? And actually wait for him?

What had he done?

"Hiroshi has been transferred," his mother said, eyes meeting his for the first time. Tobio wanted to look away but he knew she would be angry if he did so. "I have put in a request to go with him. We will be moving to Tokyo."

Tokyo? That was a couple of hours away by train. But…she was leaving?

Actually leaving?

"There will need to be some changes," she continued on, "I will continue to give you an allowance, however, I will send it each month instead of giving it to you each week. You are to remain vigilant when it comes to what you spend. I do not want a call halfway through the month saying that you are in need of more," she said warningly, her eyes flashing. Tobio nodded quickly. "If it is not enough, you will need to find employment. I expect you to keep your school grades up," she scowled, "well, as much as you can manage. Do not spend all of your time focusing on that game. If I feel like you are slacking in any way, I will pull you from Karasuno. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Tobio answered quickly, nodding his head.

"Hmm," she pursed her lips. "Very well. This month's allowance is on the table. We will be leaving Saturday. You _will_ answer your phone if I call." Tobio nodded once more and she stood. "Keep the house orderly. Just because I won't be checking in weekly doesn't mean you can let the trash pile up." Tobio nodded once more and she walked toward the door. "I will speak with you soon."

The door shut behind her and Tobio's entire body instantly relaxed. His shoulders loosened and he leaned back against the sofa. He was tired. His body hurt. And this hadn't been a good day for his mother to suddenly appear.

He shifted and then winced at the sudden flare of pain in his hands. He looked down and frowned. Oh. Apparently, he had been clenching his fists so hard that he had managed to break the skin. He was bleeding.

He needed to clean this up or practice would be hell tomorrow.

He stood slowly and moved toward the bathroom where he kept his medical supplies. He disinfected the small wounds and placed bandages on them before moving toward his bedroom. He was tired. Tired and somewhat empty. He wanted to go to bed.

He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

It wasn't until the next morning when he saw the words on his skin.

 **What did you do**

 _It wasn't me! I need my hands! We have a game tomorrow!_

 **I know that. Dumbass**

 _Then why are you blaming me?!_

 _Wait._

 _You aren't blaming me._

 _You think that_

 _Is he_

 _He is isn't_

 _CAN HE READ_

 _I'M CALLING YOU_


End file.
